Advent and family pics!

Ok, first, some news:

(those of you who read my blog here wont see the pictures in whole because blogger wants me to make them smaller and I dont have time. You can see them on my other blogsites in their entirety: www.myspace.com/shekinnah or www.marymission.org/blog

thanks!

First, Uncle Andy is home from Iraq for those of you who don’t know. Which is awesome… and the beans are very pleased! Thanks for all the prayer.



I’m going to be doing a thirty day Acai Berry Diet, and I’ll let you know how it goes. We are very excited about the nutritional benefits of Acai over here.


Wayne is officially a Catholic now, and should you choose, you may now call him by His Christian name, Peter. (I’ll let him explain in his own blog why He chose St Peter as His Patron Saint.)
It was very, very moving, and I’ll let the pictures speak a thousand words. And thank God the day has come, because now I am going to get some much needed rest!

This is him with his sponsor, Brian, at the beginning of the Rite. Behind them is the tabernacle… this is where we keep the consecrated hosts that are reserved for bringing to people in need at the hospital, in their homes, etc.



Father Tony sits on the far left, Jesus at the center, and the boys on the right. All the right elements!


Just before his first communion:


Celebrating with Father:



The beautiful Vaeths:



The fabulous Edwards:











Father was nice enough to let us borrow his relic of St Therese, which you can see here, a piece of her right forearm bone. She helped us through the last difficult parts of the week, and it was awesome having her in our house! (For non-Catholic readers: Relics are things that either are or belonged to a canonized saint. Just as in scripture, even the shadows of the saints could heal and cure the sick, and handkerchiefs touched to them could heal, we have relics which we keep as spiritual “reinforcement.”)


Here it is:



Thanks to our wonderful and loving friends and family who made this a special day.
I’ll probably blog more about at another date, but in the meantime, please enjoy the pictures.

Also, a side note: winter has arrived and we have been enjoying some of our favorite winter activities… and it also means that Ishod has turned ONE! I can’t believe how fast time goes by. Here is the family out on our lake:











Here is the birthday boy on his special day. A friend made him this beautiful birthday cake:





For now, though, I promised Amanda a blog about advent traditions, so here goes:

Advent: a Season of Waiting for the Humble King

On November 30, Catholic families across the world will begin a four week season which kick starts the Catholic year: Advent. During Advent, we wait in hushed anticipation for the coming of the King, which not surprisingly follows the Feast day of Christ the King--an excellent reminder that God is with us as a reigning King. The season is important to us because it reminds of three things: 1. the seasons of waiting God takes us through, 2. The love of God and the gift of Christ, and 3. (and most importantly) the Incarnation—the idea that a God who made us came to be WITH us and experience things as we do.

Advent kicks off with Mass, like every Sunday, but what makes it special is the lighting of the advent wreath. At home, we will all have our own: a set of four candles nestled in a wreath of evergreens, with one candle rising from the center.
The first three candles are violet, representing the penitential aspect of advent. The fourth is pink for the anticipated joy of Christ’s birth. In the center is the white pillar, which we will light to commemorate Jesus’ birth.
We light the candles around the dinner table before we eat.
Some families sing a hymn before dinner and light it together. (This might be a good time to remind you that St Augustine says “He who sings, prays twice.) Others pray the joyful mysteries of the Rosary. Others read scripture that reminds them of Christ’s coming , or the Gospel for that day from the lectionary. Others will simply hold hands and pray. Whatever you do, do something that reminds you that the Baby Jesus is on his way. All advent traditions are based on this principle and in the Catholic Tradition, we set up for Christmas a little more each day of advent UNTIL THE FINAL DAY of Christmas comes. In other words, Christmas decorations are not a one-day deal for Catholics. We take all month to prepare, and our season of Christmas doesn’t BEGIN until December 25th, thus our decorations will remain in place much longer than the secular world would like… until after the epiphany, which represents the visit from the three kings.

(I’ll interject here with a brief theological point: Catholics celebrate advent with great gusto because the Catholic liturgical year makes a point that other faith traditions who also celebrate advent might not quite pick up on. Scripture says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God is outside of time. Thus when we celebrate mass, the events of the past crucifixion, which have already taken place, are made present to us in a special way so that we can BE THERE. Likewise, during advent, we wait for Christ though we know that He is already here, and at Christmas, we are amazed by the incarnation which is a Spiritual reality to us each year, despite the fact that the incarnation is an event in past history. For most faith traditions, the only “REALITY” based celebration is the resurrection Sunday because hey—Christ is STILL risen. But for Catholics, all of the mysteries of the life of Christ are a present reality to us each year, and round and round it goes, until He comes again. Not because we actually believe that Jesus Christ will be born in a manger in Bethlehem THIS Christmas, but because as we celebrate the year with Him present, we are able to more deeply live the lives He has called us to.)

Apart from the advent wreath, here are a few ways to expect Christ this season:
1. The advent calendar. These come in many shapes and forms, but for the most part are simply doors you open or parts you pick up to “mark” the day and the day’s events. It’s really fun to let each family member have a turn opening the doors and reading the events that lead up to the Savior’s birth.
2. Saint Barbara’s day (December 4th) planting . Gather some small dishes or Tupperwares, and put some wet paper towels or cotton pads in the bottom. Put some seeds on there… you can experiment with either lentils or wheat. Set them out on your windowsills and water them gently every day with a spray bottle or something light. Over the next four weeks , they will grow into beautiful plants which you can then tie a big red bow around and use to decorate your manger scene. Also remember to send me a religious gift as it’s my saint’s day! Just kidding… but we do celebrate with Daily Mass and a really, really yummy feast. Why not do the same? Saint Barbara was a martyred saint with a really awesome story and deep devotion to the Eucharist. She’s always been a good friend to me, leading me towards Christ.
Here is the wheat:



and here is the feast from two different years we had:





3. The Creche. Where I come from, the Creche, or nativity scene, is a BIG deal. We have “villagers” representing each of us family members, plus all the traditional villagers (from the poissoniere, the fish lady) to the guy who sells firewood, to the shepherd, to the milk man and everyone in between. We decorate it with scraps of colored paper, aluminum foil, cotton, and pretty much anything we can find that makes it look “real”--- moss, evergreen, and even dirt! We add to it piece by piece, to include the lights, until Christmas Eve. Just as everyone leaves for midnight mass, someone (usually the Pater Familias—the Family Patriarch) will sneak around and plant Baby Jesus in the manger…. So that when everyone gets home, Jesus has magically appeared!

My grandmother in France has been doing this for more years than I've been alive! Here is her masterpiece, la creche provencale, with homemade santons from our village, Cabries! :)
















4. St Lucy’s day. This tradition is particularly awesome in Sweden, land where my heart often lives, but anyone can do it. To really see it done up right, do a search to find out if the Swedish Community in YOUR town is having festivities (they are and they will!) but otherwise, you can set up your girls in beautiful white dresses with a wreath of white candles (you can now purchase electric ones too!) on their heads, as they serve up yummy Swedish treats and hard coffee.
5. Caroling. In the week before Christmas, gather some friends and start caroling. Christmas carols, particularly ADVENT carols, are a beautiful way to engage people in thinking about Jesus…. Take the whole family and a bunch of friends and go from door to door in your neighborhood, Caroling and offering chocolate treats or some other nicety as a way to say “I care.”
6. Some traditions we don’t do but others enjoy: the Jesse Tree, Decorating the House with lights, the outdoor manger scene, and eggnog parties.
7. In the week before Christmas, set up, decorate, and light your tree. This is one of the best parts of the Christmas festivities in our house. Then during the last week of advent, gather around the tree to sing and pray the rosary or read scripture. There is a blessing in the RCC’s book of blessings for a Christmas Tree, so make an appointment with your priest this year.
8. Remind people of Christmas miracles. Everyone, even atheists, believe in Christmas miracles. This year, be bold about your faith. Just like the Prayer Tables we set up outside in the summer, take a few hours to Stand on a street corner and offer prayers for Christmas Miracles. Set up a table or a sign that says “Prayer!” and then just let people approach you if they want prayer. You’ll be amazed how many people actually stop, and how many Christmas miracles you’ll encounter. If that sounds too bold, try just asking the cashier who looks sad if she wants you to pray for anything in particular. Remember: faith like a mustard seed.
9. Do some serious loving on the pregnant women in your lives. Make or do something special for them, and consider doing some volunteer work for pro-life causes… counseling women considering abortions, or even just praying outside abortion mills.
10. Give your mommy friends a break this season. Offer to babysit someone’s baby for free, and as you care for the little munchkin, meditate on what it was like for Mary to care for the newborn infant-Savior of the World. I guarantee it will remind you of God’s great love for you.
11. Follow a star. A couple years ago on December 24th, Wayne and I (very pregnant with Annika!) decided to go on a trip just to get out of town and see where God led us. We drove until we randomly found ourselves in a little hamlet, on a street called Bethlehem Drive, outside a big, beautiful church with an outdoor manger scene with live animals. It was getting cold and starting to get dark, and we were tired and hungry. We wanted to head back and couldn’t find our way since we hadn’t paid close attention to where we were. We actually ended up following the north star home (No GPS!). Not only did it remind us of Mary and Joseph’s journey, but it was incredibly romantic and totally orchestrated by God. Why not make your own Advent pilgrimage that will help you remember the hard and magical journey of the Holy Family?

The Christmas Season itself offers entire new joys for us which I’ll blog about next month: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day traditions, alongside seasonal activities that help prolong the Christmas magic all the way until Ephiphany.
The culinary activities alone should make your mouth water. Until then, have a blessed Advent and … remember the Reason for the Season!

Anyone interested in more can watch EWTN this season where advent programs will abound, to include cooking ideas, craft ideas, and spiritual discussion on the beauty and purpose of advent.