A New Year Begins ... The Season of Advent

       I love the season of Advent!  It is such a gift to begin again.  Another liturgical year is before us and we can embrace it by entering deeply into this season of Advent.  Our culture seems to skip over Advent as it busily prepares for Christmas.  Advent invites us to reflect on what we are preparing for at this time of year.  It is a season of hope and anticipation as we await the birth of the Christ child into our hearts and our world.  


I find it helpful during Advent to take a little extra time each day for silence.  As I enter this time of silence, I find myself reflecting on the gift of Christ in my own life.  It also challenges me to look at the ways I share, or need to share, the gift of Christ with others.  These times of silence stretch my heart and make it a little bigger, a little more welcoming for Christ to dwell. I am so thankful for the gift of Advent.  I pray that it is a time of blessing for you as well.

Thanksgiving At Our Lady of Grace Monastery

 We had a wonderful Thankgiving at Our Lady of Grace.  We had a beautiful liturgy followed by an absolutely delicious meal.  We were joined by family and friends for both Mass and the meal.  It is always a gift to share our blessings with others.  It takes a lot of community participation to decorate the chapel, prepare the meal and decorate the dining room.  Of course, it is all worth it.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Gratitude

Thought I'd share a poem I received from my friend, John Hay, Jr.  It expresses the depth of what I understand Thanksgiving to be.  Blessings!

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GRATITUDE
Gratitude comes from some place deeper than mouthing the words “thank you”

I penned this poem thinking of gratitude, which is a grace that runs much deeper than the socially-expected etiquette that surrounds “giving thanks.”  As important as it is to celebrate thanksgiving and to take up the practice of saying “thank you,” finding gratitude reverberating authentically in one’s heart is the surpassing gift.  I pray that you experience and express it this season.

Thanksgiving doesn’t live in a vacuum;
We do not pluck it from thin air.
We cannot be grateful on command,
Genuflecting at the drop of hat.

Talk is cheap when it comes to thanking,
Yet beyond courteous etiquette
Lies a deeper reality that beckons,
Inviting us to reckon with grace.

Native American graciousness
And Pilgrim hospitality,
Turkey and all the trimmings point
Beyond finely folded, praying hands.

Through and beyond these images
We glimpse a sacred connection,
As generations across time
Hail some gracious provision.

It’s not so much a debt we owe
Or tribute for posterity
As it is a virtue we receive
And reflect into eternity.

We deep-down know we are held
By sustaining, life-giving hands.
Not our own or on our own,
We belong and are lovingly known.

We cannot utter such mystery--
Tradition and rite fall short;
But these, and we, can point and say
“Thanks” for life and grace today.

St. Gertrude the Great and St. Mechtild of Hackeborn

This week we celebrate two great Benedictine saints of our church.  Yesterday, Tuesday November 16,  we celebrated St. Gertrude the Great.  She was the only mystic to be named "Great".  She went to the monastery of Helfta at the age of five to be taken care of by the nuns.  Later she chose to become a nun and grew in holiness in the midst of her community.   The Church celebrates St. Mechtild's feast on November 19.  St. Mechtild served as St. Gertrude's Formation Director and they grew close in spiritual friendship.


Both of them had a deep love of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours.  It was through the liturgy that they grew closer to Christ and gained strength.  Both of them had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart.  Both of these saints had visions and deep experiences of contemplation that have been written down for others to share.


As we grow in our faith and commitment to Christ through the liturgy, let us ask Sts. Gertrude and Mechtild to pray for us.

Blessed Pope John XXIII's Feast Day

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Pope John XXIII, was born on November 25, 1881 in Bergamo, Itali.  As a young priest, he served as a hospital orderly during World War I, a military chaplain, a papal diplomat in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, and in France during World War II.  He was the cardinal archbishop of Venice and finally the pope who convened Vatican Council II 48 years ago.  He died on June 3, 1963 and was beatified in 2000 by Pope John Paul.

At the homily given at Pope John’s beatification, Pope John Paul shared these words in his homily:

Today we contemplate in the glory of the Lord another Pontiff, John XXIII, the Pope who impressed the world with the friendliness of his manner which radiated the remarkable goodness of his soul. Everyone remembers the image of Pope John's smiling face and two outstretched arms embracing the whole world. How many people were won over by his simplicity of heart, combined with a broad experience of people and things! The breath of newness he brought certainly did not concern doctrine, but rather the way to explain it; his style of speaking and acting was new, as was his friendly approach to ordinary people and to the powerful of the world. It was in this spirit that he called the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, thereby turning a new page in the Church's history: Christians heard themselves called to proclaim the Gospel with renewed courage and greater attentiveness to the "signs" of the times. The Council was a truly prophetic insight of this elderly Pontiff who, even amid many difficulties, opened a season of hope for Christians and for humanity.

8th Graders Visit Our Lady of Grace

On Thursday, October 7th, the Serra Club of Indianapolis planned a Vocation Exploration day for 8th Graders.  The young men went to the Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary and the young women came to Our Lady of Grace Monastery.

It was wonderful to have these young women with us.  They represented several schools in the Archdiocese and were accompanied by four chaperones.  They arrived at 10:00 a.m. and stayed until 2:00 p.m.  They joined us for prayer and a meal, a tour of the monastery and a talk on vocations.  I was so impressed with these young women.  It was fun to get to know them and learn more about the questions they have.  Each of them was so respectful and participated in the day fully.  It is a gift to know that these young women are a part of our faith and desire to take their faith seriously.

Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to discern God's call in their lives.  A big thanks to the Serra Club who continue to pray for vocations and offer opportunities for vocation exploration.

Saint in the making ...

Last weekend I had the opportunity and privilege of attending the baptism of my friend's little boy. The baptism took place during the 4:30 p.m. Mass at St. Monica-St. George parish in Ohio.  Pax Gabriel was wearing a baptismal garment that has been in his family for five generations.  It was amazing to think that Pax Gabriel's Great-Great Grandfather had been baptized in this same white garment.  What a powerful example of passing on the faith. Although Pax was fairly upset before the actual baptism began, he seemed to get very interested as he was being held over the baptismal font.  As Fr. Tom was pouring the water over his head, Pax tried to grab the water and pour it over himself.  It seemed as if he was very eager to be baptized.  It made me smile.   What a wonderful gift Pax was receiving and participating in.  Through his baptism Pax is called to live a life of holiness.  This is his vocation and it is our vocation. Each day we have the opportunity to grow in becoming a saint.  This is our calling.  I wonder how many times I miss the opportunities that God gives me to grow. I'm going to pay more attention and wake up to all the opportunities to grow, to be the saint I'm called to be.