Is it really in my power to have a "good" Advent?

I mentioned in my last post that Advent starts this year on November 30. You may already be receiving emails from various Catholic publishers advertising their Advent resources. I get a bit greedy at this time - I want to read, pray, and do them all. I really want to have a “good” liturgical season, whichever it may be. I want to go deep, I want to be transformed, I want to do it now!

But is that really how it works? I see how liturgical seasons can feel competitive. For example, as I have written before, there is always that feeling during Lent to sacrifice the most, and even to see the results (weight loss!) of that sacrifice. It can be competition with others, but often it is simply competition with ourselves. The prayer and sacrifices must always be better than the year before.

But what even is a “good” Advent, Lent, or other season? Are we the judges of that? Is it even in our power? How much does the Holy Spirit have to do with it?

When we take this competitive approach to a season, it totally dilutes the purpose of the season, as we make it about ourselves, and not God. I say dilute rather than destroy because I do believe anything we offer up, the Lord uses. Also, pretty much everyone has some level of selfishness, and sometimes it is even in that selfishness that God finds us. So basically, it is a good desire to have “the best Advent ever;” it is when we lose sight of the spiritual purpose of Advent that we get mixed up.

Also, it is not in our power to have a “good” liturgical season, and we aren’t really the judges of it, anyway. God works through us, not the other way around. There is such a thing as “dry” prayer, or spiritual desolation. We do not stop praying during those times, though, we carry on in faith. And it may be that that is your sacrifice of this season, and it bears more spiritual fruit for you than an hour every morning with Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Advent prayer book (this is the one I want to get, by the way).

Take a step back from whatever kind of goals you set with your Advent time. Set the goal simply to be present and do whatever it is you decide to do, rather than getting ahead of yourself by measuring the outcomes. This isn’t a corporate job with a performance review, it’s your inner life and your relationship with Jesus. He’s there. He’ll always be there. Expect the unexpected and be open to it.

One last note: whatever your Advent looks like, I do find value in the practice of being with the “Advent figures.” These are the people who were there at the birth of Jesus, or played some role - Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi. Advent is a visually beautiful time of year, and you can spend contemplative prayer with these individuals, and allow them to accompany you during your prayer time.

Here’s to the the best Advent ever - as God wills it for each of us, and as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit!

All Souls Day, Advent approacheth

It is November 1, which means it is the solemnity of All Saints. I’ll let Bishop Barron explain at least one take on this day:

Sometimes we look at sainthood—friendship with God—as the special preserve of a handful of spiritual heroes and not the ordinary goal of Christian life. But this feast reminds us that sainthood should be the desire of every believer. What matters most in life is being holy—being the person God wants you to be. Everything else is trivial. 

What does it mean to be a saint? It means to follow God’s will, which is to follow the way of love. And love is willing the good of the other as other. Our whole life is to be attuned to this path, which is also the path of authentic happiness. In the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, the root Greek term for “blessed” is makarios, which can also be rendered as “happy.” How happy you are if you follow the law of the new Moses—if you risk the path of love! 

On this All Saints Day, resolve not to settle for spiritual mediocrity but to imitate the friends of God.

One of my favorite things to reflect on, and I have done so in the past (sorry, can’t find the link) is that All Saints is for all saints “known and unknown.” The “unknown” part is kind of interesting, right? Aren’t we supposed to know who the saints are? Aren’t they all written about in the books and honored throughout the year? Well - not all. Think of the many unknown martyrs, who were killed in groups, or in secret, and the world has no way of knowing them or their fate. Think of holy people who have died but have never officially been canonized - they are in heaven, too, as saints. So we do look to our tried-and-true friends in Heaven, but we can know that there are others, too, and they pray and intercede for us.

And, since it is November, I am of course thinking of Advent. It truly is a beautiful time of year: the waiting, the lights, the joy, the meaning. The first day of Advent this year is Sunday, November 30, and it lasts until Christmas Eve. Time to get out the Advent wreath! And make your Advent prayer plan - buy a prayer book, prepare your prayer corner, make a plan to give to charity - however it looks for you. Here’s five ideas.

My next radio appearance is Thursday, November 20 at 8:20 am eastern and I will be taking on a timely topic: how to spend the holidays alone. It can be done! And in a healthy way. Tune in to find out how.

A few ways to honor the month of the Rosary

This past Thursday I joined the Morning Air team to give one last push for the month of the rosary. You can listen to the audio here. I’ve also summarized below what we covered, as well as a few other ideas we didn’t get to:

• Give a rosary away! You’d be surprised by how people are impacted by receiving a rosary if they need it. Think of someone suffering, for example, and you share your own experience of praying the rosary with them. It can be very powerful.

• Visit a Marian shrine - or just the Mary statue at your own church! Give her a flower crown, place a rosary on her hands, bring her some flowers. It’s like a mini pilgrimage.

• Help a new mother - or a mother at any stage. Mary was Jesus’s mother, and she is our mother, and we all know moms need help sometimes (often). Bring a meal to a new mom, take her other kids to the park, run an errand for her, pay for a housecleaning service.

• That last point is similar to another point: give alms. Jesus and Mary are close to the poor, and you can give alms - aka donate money - as a form of tribute. Particularly appropriate would be a pregnancy resource center.

• Learn about a saint who had a devotion to Mary or even wrote a book about her. We talked about St. Louise Marie de Montfort and “True Devotion to Mary,” and St. Maximilien Kolbe as examples.

• Last but not least: find out if your parish has a Legion of Mary - and attend a meeting!

Just a few more days of this month of the rosary - and it’s just about All Saints and All Souls Days! May your Halloween be spooky and holy.