Month: December 2023

I admit I have to smile this year when reading anew the Gospel for Christmas Eve! We have talked so much during Advent about how we were in a season of planning, of preparation, how we were supposed to be alert, ready for the Lord’s coming…and so tonight I can’t help but smile at the…

I am often asked the meaning of the pink candle on the Advent wreath: “What does it stand for?” or “When are we to light it?” so you may know by now that the pink candle represents Joy. In some churches, all the linens including the priest’s stole are changed to pink for the occasion…

We talked last week about this kind of tension there can be during the season of Advent between the business and excitement around us, and the quiet, contemplative, and sometimes gloomy atmosphere we find at church, both in our liturgy and in our readings. Last Sunday, we talked about Isaiah and how he prophetized at…

There is always this tension in Advent when, on one side, everything around us invites us to get busy and excited as we prepare for the Christmas celebrations and, on the other side, we find ourselves at church in this quiet, contemplative, and even rather gloomy mood. Advent in the church is traditionally understood as…