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 Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Welcome to our celebration of the Second Sunday of our Advent
season. Today as we light our second candle on our Advent wreathes,
we listen for the Voice of God in our lives. In 2007, almost 2008,
it is hard to listen. We are surrounded by so much noise. We don’t
listen to God. We don’t listen to each other. And many times, we
don’t even really honestly listen to ourselves. We ignore our own
feelings, our own bodies, our own minds, and even our own hearts.
And then we become hypocrites. And we wonder what happened.
Listening is an essential aspect of life, both life in this
world and the supernatural life that we look forward to in Heaven.
Listening is how we learn, and grow, and get information. And I’m
not just talking about hearing with our ears. There are deaf
people, people who will never hear a word with their ears, who are
much better listeners than many of us who have good hearing. They
hear with their minds and hearts. And many times you don’t have to
hear a word with your ears, to understand what’s going on in your
mind or in your heart. The truth is, that many times we say more
with our actions and our attitudes, than what we do with our words.
On this Second Sunday of Advent, we have to ask ourselves what our
actions and our attitudes are saying about us? Anybody can SAY nice
words. What are we DOING?
And so today we pray for the ability to listen. It’s why
there is more silence at Mass during Advent than during the rest of
the year. It’s why all of us should be setting aside some time
every day during this season, just to listen to God. We live such
noisy lives. Sometimes, it seems, that the TV is always on, or the
radio, or the computer, or the I-pod. We can’t even be put on hold
when we’re on the telephone, and not have some music or message
played for us, while we wait. We can’t get on an elevator for a
minute or two, and not have some piped in “musak” to entertain us.
Our need for perpetual noise, entertainment, and information is not
helping us. Sometimes what our heart and our soul most need is just
a little silence.
Silence rejuvenates us. It gives the mind time to think and
prioritize. It gives the heart time to expand and grow in love.
And it gives the soul the ability to open itself up to God.
Sometimes the most calming thing that you can do for yourself is
simply to be quiet by yourself and listen. Would John the Baptist
have heard God so clearly in his life, if he had an I-pod on all the
time? Would the Blessed Virgin Mary have heard the angel if she had
the TV on all the time? Would St. Joseph have been as reassured as
he was by God, that it was OK to marry Mary, if he was constantly on
the computer? I don’t think so. We have to give God the time and
the space to hear Him. Where do you go to be quiet? Where and
when can you best listen to God and to your own soul? How do hear
in God in the middle of your life? Think about this today. Ask
your spouse. Ask your kids. Ask your parents. Ask your friends.
You should know where others around you are also listening to God
too.
We’ve got to listen more and listen better. It’s not that
God is not speaking to us. It truly is that we are not listening.
Give Him a chance. Open your heart, your mind, your soul, AND your
ears! God has so much to tell us to get us ready for Christmas.
Stop the Christmas insanity and listen to Him!
This coming Tuesday evening, Dec. 11th,
St. Maria Goretti will be having its Advent Penance Service at 7:00
PM in the main sanctuary. Several priests from around the Deanery
will be here to help us receive God’s mercy and love. Again, I
remind you, how important these penance services are to large
parishes like ours. It is so important for us to take advantage of
these opportunities so that we don’t have to wait forever, and as
many people as possible get the opportunity to go to
reconciliation. We ALL need God’s love and forgiveness. We ALL
sin. Come on, admit it! We ALL need to be here on Tuesday evening.
Special thanks go to the Altar Rosary Society for the
delicious bake sale last weekend. The new statute of the Holy
Family, which was purchased by the Altar Rosary Society for the
Daily Mass chapel, will be blessed and dedicated on Sunday, Dec. 30th,
the Feast of the Holy Family, at 9:30 AM. Please plan now to come
and join us.
Have a great week. Don’t forget it is Advent. And Listen !
In Christ,
Fr. Kevin
Everything
has been said already, but since no one listens, we must always
start again.
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