It is my favorite time of the year!!!  Also, this year being a Catholic has its perks because the year 2020 is over and we have moved into the New year already!  We begin our church year with the beautiful liturgical season of Advent.  When we went to church this past Sunday, we saw we have changed from green to purple!   We prepare ourselves for the Lord by staying awake and being ready.  We try to make this liturgical season a special season in our home.  We do special things, and we celebrate the beautiful saints of the season. 

I came across this profound and moving text some time ago and had forgotten about it until today’s beautiful feast of the Immaculate Conception dawned. Enjoy and a blessed Advent to you all!

Back in the 90s, when I was private secretary to Bishop Patrick Kelly of Salford Diocese, he would often say that we should not declare, 'Lord forgive us our faults and failings.' He said this because in his view [and I agree with him], "faults and failings are what happen with railways, not human beings. People commit sins, and we shouldn't be afraid to say the word sin!"

A former leader of the IBM Executive School once commented, ‘A worthwhile mission properly articulated galvanizes ordinary people with extraordinary even explosive results’.

Right now I have family members who are putting their house on the market. They have been busy packing up and keeping things clean for their open house and subsequent showings. Their house needs to be in order so they are ready at any moment for someone to come take a look. They are busy preparing for when their house sells.

The beautiful penitential season of Advent is once more upon us. Advent is a two part symphony as it were, with the first two weeks focusing our attention on the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. But how often that focus gets pushed aside by all the rush to bring the goodness and beauty of December 25th far too early, and when we are often ill-prepared spiritually and even emotionally for it.

When you ask my kids what Christmas is all about, they know that it is about Jesus, but they will also always mention presents. Who doesn’t love to get presents!  Our 5-year old son has already been praying each night for the car transporter that he knows his grandma is getting him for Christmas.