Recently in liturgical year Category

The feast day of Bl. Junipero Serra is coming up (July 1) and the Carmel Mission Basilica will be celebrating Founder’s Day on Saturday, June 28. There is an opening ceremony at noon in the Basilica and the grounds will be open until 5pm. (You can tour the grounds, museum and the burial place of Bl. Serra free of charge.) “Fr. Serra� will also be strolling the grounds and there will be games, tortilla making, Spanish colonial horses, acorn grinding etc. BBQ food will be sold throughout the day but there is an actual dinner (tickets needed) after Founders Day Mass is at 5:30. It should be enjoyable and a great way to learn more about Fr. Serra and his life. So if you are in the area, be sure to stop by!

We hope you are having a blessed Advent. Here is an excellent resource about the Jesse Tree and how to make one. Enjoy.

Jesse Tree Info

The Light of Christ
by Brian

One of my favorite parts of the morning is the dawn. Watching the sun slowly appear over the eastern mountains is an awesome sight. It’s beautiful to see the various shades of yellow, orange and red slowly taking shape and ushering in a new day and pushing back the darkness of the night.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.�(Jn. 1:5) Like the dawn, the light of Christ dispels the darkness, pushes it back, and reveals the majesty, beauty and love of the Most Holy Trinity. This light is not for a chosen few, but is for everyone. It is a light that radiates the glory of Heaven and the love God has for the world. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.�(Jn 3:16)

Each baptized Catholic is called to be a bearer/channel of this light. As Jesus said, “you are the light of the world…let your light shine before men…�(Mt. 5:14,16) Christ needs each one of us to share His Light with others, by following his commandments, especially to love God and neighbor, while listening to His Bride the Church. By being channels of His Light we will push back the darkness of sin and evil and become “living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.� (Rom. 12:1)

This heavenly light that permeates the world and is the focal point of the Easter season, can never be manufactured or produced, but is a free gift from the “Father of lights.� Like an icon that captures the depths of light radiating the holiness of the person or Biblical event depicted, any man or woman whose heart is filled with the Light of Christ will also radiate holiness.

When I reflect upon the life of Pope John Paul II, I see a man who was filled with the Light of Christ, and because of it, produced remarkable fruit for the Kingdom. How many people, who were of other faiths or beliefs, recognized his love for them and all the good works he initiated? Because of this, many hearts were turned toward Heaven and many people could be heard giving glory to God.

The light that radiated from John Paul II bears witness to its beauty and power. It attracts those trapped in sin, it warms those bitten by the coldness of evil and nurtures those stunted by spiritual darkness. Where the Light of Christ is, there you will find Christ Himself.

I encourage all of you during this Easter season, which ends on Pentecost Sunday, to reflect on the theme of Light and how each one of us is called to be channels of that light, instruments of love and people of holiness. I also encourage you to pray daily to the Holy Spirit who will gladly answer your prayer and fill you with the Light of Christ.

Happy Easter!

God bless.

Give It Up by Fr. Raymond de Souza

We are two weeks into Lent and for those who observe the Christian practice of making a Lenten sacrifice, it's about now that the novelty of the challenge gives way to the onerous realization that Easter is still a month away...

I received another idea of how a family incororates Advent into their family life. Check out these great ideas from AM in CA. (We posted these ideas on RoL - Keeping Christ in Advent and Christmas 2004.)

As for Advent, we are doing things quite different this year. Every year we have always gotten out all the Christmas decorations and the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year we got out some decorations for the fireplace and the stockings for St Nick Day. (Dec. 6) Everything else, will be put out the 3rd week of Advent (pink week) as we show signs of Joy! Our tree will go up the third week also or we might wait for Christmas Eve.

We have several Advent calendars and our Advent wreath, which we gather around every evening as a family to light the candles and say our Advent prayers. We emptied our basket of reading books in the living room and filled it with religious, advent and Christmas books.

We have been celebrating the special feast and Holy days as a family. We celebrated St Nick with stockings in the morning filled with several religious gifts and a few small treats, then read books about him. We celebrated The Feast of the Immaculate Conception with Mass, prayers, and a SPECIAL new book called Angel in the Waters. We will also try to celebrate other special days this month.

We have been talking everyday about the presents we are going to give Jesus, and have been trying to teach the kids that these are gifts we can give him all year long( being nice to brothers & sisters, helping Mom or Dad without being asked, saying extra prayers, playing a game with sibling, doing a chore for someone else, etc.) We are trying to steer them away from talking about what they want to get, and lead them toward talking about what they want to give (this is very challenging at times!)

In years past, I have been so overwhelmed during December that I never got to enjoy Advent, or teach the kids about it, just spend it as a time of prayerful waiting. I have always been so busy with activities, Christmas shopping, and general business, that I missed the whole season, and always said, "I'll do it different next year." This year, I'm actually trying to do it different. We streamlined our Christmas shopping and did it all in one day before December arrived. We got out our advent materials early, and had them ready, when the first Sunday rolled around. We are just simplifying, and really enjoying it so much more. I feel peaceful, and happy, and have time for spontaneous book reading and prayers with the kids.

Some of the local Catholic families were talking about how they are incorporating the Advent season into their home. One of our friends had an excellent idea so I thought I�d share it with you. She says:

In previous years I've waited until the last minute to decorate, cook, etc, but that puts a huge strain on the season in those final days of Advent. This year I wanted to keep Advent as a waiting period and a time of penance, but also try to avoid the last minute rush. This is what we're doing this year.

Once "Pink week" comes this Sunday (the third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday) we will slowly begin to decorate (dragging it out for the next 2 weeks) since "pink week" invites us to recognize the hope and joy to come. But our biggest change is we have our tree up and decorated with wonderful PURPLE balls, silver garland, and PURPLE and PINK lights. I saw all these things at Target and now we have an "Advent tree!" This way our tree is up and ready to go and is getting the water it needs. Closer to Christmas we'll take down the purple and put up the Christmas decorations.

We also have Advent calendars, Advent wreath, candles in the window as a sign of waiting, etc.

I love that idea and will keep it in mind next year. (This year we were so excited to have a real tree and house to decorate that we put up our Christmas decorations now along with our advent things.) For a refresher you can also read last year's article Keeping Christ in Advent and Christmas. If you have an advent idea you'd like to share, let us know!