HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

    Today is the First Sunday in Advent, which means that it is the beginning of the Church year - not the Hallmark year.  The Priest's Chasuble is purple, all of the plants were gone from the Altar and there is an Advent Wreath in front of the Altar with one candle.  Very austere, very solemn.  Today was a little more arresting than usual because for the first time in about fifty years there are minute changes in the Mass for the congregation but quite a bit of change in the words of the Priest.    And it's not really change but back to the words we said during Mass before Vatican II.  
     Change is good.  It shakes us up.  Sometimes we get pretty complacent in our lives but a new job, a new teacher, a new grocery store moves into the neighborhood and our routine can get altered.
     Today  we start a new season, and most of us  will be spending the next few weeks altering our lives by decorating the house, preparing special foods and let's not forget going crazy choosing, buying and wrapping all those presents.  My hope is that you will take the time to change someone Else's life by having a good word for that annoying grocery clerk,  a small gift for someone who might not be getting one from anyone else and most of all, quiet time with the Lord   - rest in the quiet of the Person that all this is really about.
       This is a little story I read long ago that I love and it's a good lesson for this first week of Advent.
                                                       THE ELEVATOR RIDE
   A mother spent hours Christmas shopping with her three children.  They looked at numerous toys in several stores, and, of course, the children wanted everything they saw.
   She was already exhausted from putting up the Christmas decorations, going to numerous Christmas parties, picking out gifts for her family and friends, making sure she didn't forget anyone on her card list, planning church activities and the Christmas dinner.
    In one department store, the mother - carrying all her bags and dragging her three kids - pushed her way into a crowded elevator.
    When the doors closed, she blurted out loud, "This is too much! Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be strung up!"
     From the back of the elevator, a calm voice responded, "Not to worry, ma'am.  We already crucified Him." 

    In Advent we await the Beginning, in a couple of months, during Lent, we remember the End.  The cycle of life.