As Thanksgiving is drawing near, it means that it almost time to pack up the fall decorations and break out the Christmas decor...my favorite time of year.
Last week closed with my bi-monthly MOPS meeting. We were talking about different family traditions. There is big (not huge, but some are VERY against it) controversy about having Santa apart of the Christmas celebration. I am lucky enough to be at a table with a few Catholics, and others who include him. Some people view him as pagan...I see him as a remembrance of St. Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop. He was the son of wealthy parents who died when he was young. It has been said that he had gave freely to people in need. The legend of his generosity has been linked to the gift-giving Santa that we know today.
While in my MOPS meeting, Jenevieve (and Juliet) have a lesson they learn. They have been learning about the different miracles that Jesus performed. During todays meeting they learned how Jesus fed 5,000 people and as a result of his generosity the kids were to show some generosity. They decorated brown bags for the "Brown Bag Ministry". We were instructed to fill the bag they decorated with different items and give to someone in need. So off we marched to Target to fill our bag. Since Juliet isn't quite old enough to participate, Jillian was more than eager to help out. She looked at the list of suggestions and read them off to me and helped pick out some of the items. We are almost finished, we just need to pick a day and make a sandwich and put it in the bag. So I had Jillian put our items in the bags. When Jenevieve saw the bags packed she became very upset at her sister. She started asking about the card that we were including and she started insisting that was HER bag, and that her teachers told her it was hers. She pointed to the stickers on it that said "Through Jesus' Miracle feeding the 5,000 we understand His Power to Feed". She said "see.....that says 'Jenevieve'." It was funny to see her so fired up. After a quick reminder of what we are doing and reminding her of Jesus' miracle she was then happy to participate.
I encourage you, or challenge you to do something for someone in need. I would love to take my kids to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen, but with Juliet that isn't possible. So this is one way that I can show my family the importance of this season. Performing charitable works is a way to observe Advent.
What is Advent?? Many non-Catholics (and probably many Catholics) don't know what it is, and some of they symbolism behind it.
Advent is the beginning of the Church calendar year. It is four weeks long and commemorates the coming of Jesus to Bethlehem. We prepare for his final coming at the end of the world and celebrate his coming into our hearts today.
The most common symbol for Advent is the Advent wreath. It is a circle, formed by evergreens, which is a symbol of eternal life. It has three purple candles symbolizing our time of waiting, our time or repenting, our time of preparing for the Lord. Its pink candle represents a time for rejoicing as we move closer to Christmas. The light cast from the candles reminds us of Jesus, the Light of the World.
Somewhere on this blog I am going to include one of the Advent wreath that Jenevieve made and some things to daily during the Advent season.
As we head into the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, let us not forget what it is about. It is easy to get wrapped up in all the stress of the season, but is that what you want your kids to remember?? Make this season about giving, without stressing, about spending time with our families, and enjoying it. God gave us the greatest gift, His Son, but all our kids really want is our time. Presents luster fades quickly, but the time spent with our kids glows forever.
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