Reclaiming Joy in Advent Traditions
by Heidi Bratton in Faith on Friday, December 18, 2009 6:00 AM
It’s Advent now, but in our house the “holiday season” began way back in September with apple picking and won’t end until with our third daughter’s birthday in mid-January. It is the most wonderful time of the year, packed with celebrations for five of our eight birthdays, All Saints’ Day, Thanksgiving, Advent, St. Nicholas’s Day, St. Lucy’s Day, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.
Our traditional ways of celebrating these events include simple things like hiking and leaf peeping in the White Mountains,... READ MORE
Watching and Waiting
by Sherry Antonetti in Faith on Thursday, December 17, 2009 6:00 AM
We have only a week to wait for Christmas.
What are we doing to carve out that quiet place in our spiritual darkness where Christ is welcome? How can we break through the chaos and the clutter and the noise of our lives to receive the peace that is not of this world?
Even as we prepare to enter the final week of Advent, it isn’t too late to start an Advent jar, with prayers and suggested activities for each day.
To make an Advent Jar, all you need is a jar, box or bowl with a lid, index cards,... READ MORE
Complain. Trust. Repeat.
by Daria Sockey in Family on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 6:00 AM
If there is one thing I’ve learned from the psalms, it’s that it’s okay to complain to God.
There was a time when I though this was wrong. I had overdosed on saint stories that give the impression that unless we positively crave opportunities to suffer for the love of God, and burst into rhapsodies of delight at each new illness, inconvenience, and disappointment, we are not really being very holy.
And should the thought ever cross our minds in the midst of trouble — God, what on earth are you... READ MORE
Mrs. Grinch and Me
by Susie Lloyd in Family on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 6:00 AM
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and whew – was I glad when it was over!
Why? I mean, the kids were all home. If you know me, you know that having all seven kids together under our roof is a major snuggle factor with me.
It was just how it should be. We had several great days together. We shopped for Christmas, went to the salon, shared movies, and exchanged knowing glances at the cute things their little siblings did. It was cozy with a capital Z.
Then came Thanksgiving Day. You’re thinking... READ MORE
Juan's Mom
by Sarah Reinhard in Faith on Monday, December 14, 2009 6:00 AM
It was a cold day in December when she came to an unlikely fellow. She had a retinue of songbirds and flowers, but I think that’s because she can’t help it. Just as my daughters can’t resist adding a tiara or sparkly shoes to their everyday outfits, so it is with Mary.
Maybe it’s because she was once a little girl, not so different from the ones who decorate my refrigerator with pictures of rainbows and castles. Maybe it’s because, when a Queen is around, the world can’t help but react with... READ MORE
John, the Locust-Eating Moderate
by Tom and April Hoopes in Faith on Saturday, December 12, 2009 6:00 AM
(In this weekly column, Tom and April Hoopes share family-friendly ways of observing the liturgical year and celebrating the Sunday readings.)
Dec. 13 is the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Liturgical Year C, Cycle II).
Family
There are two reasons to commemorate Dec. 13.
St. Lucy’s calendar day is one. The Sunday feast supplants it liturgically, but she can still be remembered this day. She’s famous as the victim of a gruesome act of torture: Her eyes were torn out (and she’s often depicted... READ MORE
To Quell a Quibble
by Dr. Ray Guarendi in Family on Friday, December 11, 2009 6:00 AM
Whenever my sons think they’re in trouble, they start defending themselves with all kinds of excuses and “buts.” They bring up every irrelevant point they can, it seems, just to out argue me.
It’s called quibbling. Most self-respecting kids have it mastered by age 10. Teenagers perfect the talent, able to quibble at an instant’s notice. Neither is quibbling something to be hastily outgrown. When cornered, spouses, too, have been known to quibble.
What is quibbling? It is the art of muddling, sidetracking... READ MORE
The Power of the Word
by Pat Gohn in Faith on Thursday, December 10, 2009 6:00 AM
Human words can be powerful. Depending on the context, and who speaks them and with what authority they are uttered, you know the truth when you hear it. It is trustworthy, reasonable, and unchanging, regardless how you feel about it.
A few words from my personal history that fall into that powerful truth category:
“I, Robert, take you, Patricia, to be my wife… all the days of my life.”
“It’s a boy!”
“I’m sorry, it’s breast cancer.”
In each of these circumstances, the speakers communicated undeniable... READ MORE
Come One, Come All!
by Kate Wicker in Homemaking on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 6:00 AM
Just as the Samaritan woman reaches out to a thirsty stranger who reveals himself as Jesus (John 4:4-42), we, too, are called to share our Catholic homes with others by living a life of hospitality and to open our doors and our lives to others.
And what better time to extend a warm welcome to others than during the Advent season?
One holiday tradition I’ve embraced that lends itself to hospitality without the formality (or work!) of a long, sit-down holiday dinner, is to host a cookie swap play... READ MORE
In Defense of the Holly Jolly Holiday
by Rebecca Teti in Faith on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 6:00 AM
One sign Christmas is near is the mournful chorus bemoaning its approach. Seen the headlines in supermarket magazines? The decorations, gifts, traditional delicacies, church services, time with loved ones — it’s all so stressful, they complain.
Last year, one columnist proclaimed, “The weight of the season is grotesque and it squashes many.” Christmas? Grotesque?
Ladies’ magazines trot out annual tips for slogging through the season: Attend family gatherings if you must, but don’t eat anything served... READ MORE
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