Voices Ringing
Carroll High School Blog
Preparing for Christmas Day in the final week of Advent
As we finish wrapping our presents, checking our lists, baking, cooking, planning, shopping, and stressing, it is so very important to pause, slow down, and breathe in the moment. Moments fly by so fast and seem to go by even faster lately. Throughout the pandemic, I have been reminded of how precious time is. Time is a gift from God. Loved ones are gifts from God. As we approach Christmas, we will celebrate the Holy Family as a unit with the birth of Christ. Christ manifests himself within the domestic Church, the family unit. Time with our families is sacred, and it is important to make the most of the time we have with them. Here are some ways we can accomplish this:
Foster a positive atmosphere
Make kindness and forgiveness a policy during family gatherings so we can make the time with loved ones an enjoyable experience rather than a chore. Kindness and sincerity help us to be more authentic versions of ourselves that we can share with others especially our family.
Invite the Lord
Praying as a family before sharing a meal invites God to be an active part of your family time to remember who we are and whose we are. A family unit is also called the domestic Church. It is in the family that God can be made manifest to bring joy, peace, and love into the world.
Create new family traditions
Making crafts together, establishing a card game tournament, going to see lights, or have a “who can make the best hot chocolate” competition creates long-lasting memories to cherish throughout our lives. Having good fun during family time allows everyone to interact with each other ways that they may not have before.
Minimize distractions
By storing the phones, tablets, and turning off the tv we are more able to be present and attentive and to enter into deeper conversation to reconnect with each other rather than making simple small talk just to survive the event. Getting to know our friends and family on a deeper level opens the door for opportunities to help each other and be there for each other.
This Christmas break, I challenge you to take in all of those precious moments with our friends and families so that our experiences turn into fond memories that we can carry with us through the year to come through good times and in bad. The joy of Christmas and of Christ is present in being present.
Preparing for the Advent season
If you are anything like me, the holiday season is a bit overwhelming. I love seeing all of my family and friends, and the food and sweets are an added bonus, but all the commotion and the price tags that come with it can turn me into a bit of grinch sometimes. I can sometimes catch myself thinking, “Can we just fast forward to New Year's Day and skip all of this hustle and bustle?” It’s at these moments when I really appreciate the spirit of Advent.
Advent is all about preparation that allows us to reorient and focus on what the holidays are all about: Christ’s coming and Second Coming!
This reorientation and focus allows me to put all of the stress of the holidays into its proper perspective and provides me with a bit of grounding that allows me to enjoy the season instead of just getting through the season. This year, my Advent companions are the three Magi, and hopefully, two of the tips they provide can help you and me appreciate this time of preparation.
Follow the Signs
The Magi were wise men who journeyed from their far-off homes in the East to pay their respects to a soon to be born king. Unlike now, they didn’t have Google Maps to help them along the way, but they did have a few things. They had the knowledge of the Scriptures that provided a general location of their destination and a Star that guided them to their destination.
It must have seemed daunting to set out on such a journey across mountains, rivers, and deserts with the little information that they had, but courageously, they set out nonetheless. Life can present us with similar circumstances. Sometimes we may know where we want to go, but we may not know how we are going to get there. It’s times like this where I look for the signs God is sending me.
For some, that destination may be trying to find the peace of Christ when the demands of the holidays and the stress that comes with them threaten to rob you of the joy of the season. For others, the destination may be finding ways to share the joy of the season with others around you. Some of you may be in the same boat as me, trying to find the joy of the season in the absence of a loved one who is no longer with us to celebrate.
One of the cool things about the human brain is that it scans the world around us for patterns, and once it recognizes the patterns, it actively searches to discover more and more connections for those patterns. Like the Magi, we can discover the signs in our life of God’s presence and guidance that allow us to truly participate in the hope of Christ’s coming. One way that I’m more actively search these signs is to be more attentive to things that I am thankful for. That’s why this Advent, I am going to look for one or two things from each day that I am thankful for that I can offer up to God in prayer. Hopefully, the more I practice looking for those things to be thankful for, I’ll be more focused on the positive things of this holiday season.
Meaningful Gifts
The Magi didn’t leave their homes empty-handed. They brought with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts were not merely material but also symbolized the mission of Christ for the world and our lives. The gold testified to Christ’s kingship, the frankincense indicated Christ’s role as the high priest, and the myrrh prophesied Christ’s dying and rising. These gifts should inspire us to be more present, pun intended, this holiday season.
I know that for myself, I am tempted to think more about the things that go into an event than actually experiencing the event. Sometimes, I become too distracted by what needs to be done that I’m too exhausted to enjoy myself when the event finally arrives. It’s times like this that I remind myself that Christ’s name of Immanuel means “God with us”, and one way where I make more room at the inn for Christ this season is by spending more time with him. One way I can spend more time with him is by meeting Christ in the sacraments such as reconciliation and the mass. Another way I can spend more time with Christ is by recognizing Christ in other people. I’m hoping to accomplish this recognition of encountering Christ in others by reminding myself that the people I encounter or will be encountering are the focus of the season rather than the food, presents, or decorations that are the symbols of the season.
