A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I knew this person that I considered a friend, who was a pretty nice guy, but you couldn’t believe him. This was a really hard thing for me, because I want to believe everybody. I’m not saying that he deliberately lied, he believed in what he was saying, but he was wrong. His perceptions were not true. His information was off base. And after awhile, when somebody tells you enough information that you know is not true, you learn to not believe what they’re telling you. And you can’t be friends with a person like that, because you can never really tell who they are, and what they are all about. It’s not popular today, but sometimes, some people are wrong. We are told over and over today, that nobody is wrong. We are supposed to be politically correct and we are supposed to respect everybody’s opinion. There is no right or wrong anymore, there’s only differing opinions. Read the Indianapolis Star any day of the week, and you’ll see this. The truth is, that sometimes, all of us are wrong. There is objective right and wrong. We all make mistakes. We know this. We all receive bad information. Sometimes we need a correction, if we want the truth, if we want to be better.

Our society, our culture, and the media can also be wrong. We know that we get told things every single day that we know, we know, ARE NOT TRUE. If we believed the commercials, the only way for us to have a Happy Christmas this year, is for us to find a new Lexus parked in our garage on Christmas morning or to give a Carnival Cruise. We know that’s not true. How many people do you know are getting a new Lexus for Christmas or a Carnival Cruise? Nobody on my list are getting those things. But that sure is the message that the ads try to get across. And isn’t there also the message that IF YOU CAN’T give a new Lexus with a big red bow on it, or if you can’t give that model boat wrapped up in gold foil symbolizing your Carnival Cruise, that somehow your gift is inferior, because we’re not giving what is really going to make someone have a Happy Christmas. Or how about the commercials that tell us that the only way that we can really enjoy “the season” is to drink Bailey’s Irish Cream. The commercials look so good, pretty friends, sitting around the fire in a really nice house. But that’s not what “the season” is all about. We know that. Bailey’s never show us fat, drunk people sitting around a smoky bar. They are trying to define for us what happiness is, what celebration is, and what the holidays are “supposed” to be like. It’s a lie. That new coat, the new computer or I-pod, a million gift cards to all your favorite stores, none of the things that the ads are promoting are going to make your Christmas bright, or make you happy, or make you beautiful or more popular. Guys, they are not telling us the truth. They want to sell their products. The month of December, the great Feast of Christmas, our rich traditions, and our Faith, have all been taken over by Madison Avenue. They have so taken Christ right out of Christmas, that it’s not even Christmas anymore. Happy X-Mas! Happy Holidays to you! And it’s in high gear. It didn’t just start this week, this year. They have been pushing their version of Christmas since before Halloween this year. It’s got to stop. It’s time, we as Christians, especially as Catholic Christian, fought back.

So what are we going to do? We’re going to do Advent. While the rest of our country and even our world goes crazy over their Happy Holidays, we are going to prepare for the birthday of our Savior. Make no mistake about it. This is counter-cultural. To really do Advent, you are not going to be able to be like everybody else. We need to pray more. We need to get reconciled with God. We need to get our souls ready to receive Him Who still wants to come into the world today. We need to listen to Him and study and reflect on His Word. And we can’t do any of these things when the Happy Holidays party, the Happy X-Mas Machine is dominating our lives. It is not time to put the Christmas decorations yet. It is not time to have Christmas parties yet. It is not time to listen to Christmas music yet. You know, there are some great Advent songs we should be listening to right now - And I’m not just talking about “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”! Before we DO Christmas, let us DO Advent. We need this time. This is sacred time. This is a great opportunity for all of us. We are supposed to be the gift that we give to the Christ Child on Christmas Day. By Christmas, we are supposed to have our hearts and minds and souls renewed for Him and be ready to celebrate His Birthday. IF we do it the way the world around us suggest, by the time that we get to the actual Feast of Christmas, we will be tired and sick of it, and ready to get it over. What a horribly sad thing to say, or even to think, that any soul would ever get to the point of just wanting Christmas to be over. But that’s what the craziness of our world produces.

This year, let’s be different. Let’s do Advent together. Let’s get holy. Let’s make our lives gifts for Baby Jesus. Let’s not just go with the flow. Society is wrong. We know that. Let’s do what we know is right and true.

May God bless us during this Advent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!