Young Family
We know that the Elf on the Shelf has become a fun and motivating figure helping to provide sanity while we wait. But, consider if this little figure has taken prominence over the real "Reason for the Season"? It might be time to bring some new traditions into the household during this season.
Let's try ANGELS!
Advent Angels can be another simple tradition to encourage children to pray for one another. Each person in your house secretly chooses the name of someone within the family (or outside of the family) to pray for. You can also incorporate random acts of kindness into this activity. Family members only reveal their identity to each other on Christmas morning. Some families incorporate a guessing game in which family members are given clues and they try to guess which person is their Advent angel. If you have small children in your family, consider purchasing or making a small doll (an Advent angel) for your children. It is the job of the Advent angel to guide the child towards Christmas. Each night a Scripture passage is read and the family gathers to talk about what their Advent angel has shown them that day about Christ. Here is a list of scripture passages for each day of Advent.
Dec. 7 Luke 2:1-7 Dec. 18 Luke 2:8-14
Dec. 8 1 Cor. 1:18-25 Dec. 19 Matthew 5:1-11
Dec. 9 Eph. 3:14-21 Dec. 20 2 Thess. 3:13-18
Dec. 10 1 John 3:1-3 Dec. 21 John 14:27-23
Dec. 11 John 1:9-18 Dec. 22 Romans 15:8-13
Dec. 12 John 14:8-11 Dec. 23 2 Cor. 12:7-10
Dec. 13 John 10:22-30 Dec. 24 2 Cor. 1:18-22
Dec. 14 Galatians 4:4-7
Dec. 15 John 16:25-28
Dec. 16 John 17:20-26
Dec. 17 Romans 8:12-17
Dec. 18 John 3:16-21
Pray Constantly This Advent
But how do we remember mercy in addition to the other themes of Advent, when our minds are full of remembering where the best sales are, when the next party is and what gifts we still need to buy and wrap. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul gives us a simple tip for managing all the stress and demands of the Advent season: pray constantly (1 Thes 5:17). A good way to pray constantly is with prayer mantras.
Our Sunday Visitor offers a wonderful way to pray your way through Advent!
Celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy with a great new free app from Our Sunday Visitor!
The theme for the year is 'Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,' reflected in the elements of the app, which include:
Apple Store OR Google Play
Let's try ANGELS!
Advent Angels can be another simple tradition to encourage children to pray for one another. Each person in your house secretly chooses the name of someone within the family (or outside of the family) to pray for. You can also incorporate random acts of kindness into this activity. Family members only reveal their identity to each other on Christmas morning. Some families incorporate a guessing game in which family members are given clues and they try to guess which person is their Advent angel. If you have small children in your family, consider purchasing or making a small doll (an Advent angel) for your children. It is the job of the Advent angel to guide the child towards Christmas. Each night a Scripture passage is read and the family gathers to talk about what their Advent angel has shown them that day about Christ. Here is a list of scripture passages for each day of Advent.
Dec. 7 Luke 2:1-7 Dec. 18 Luke 2:8-14
Dec. 8 1 Cor. 1:18-25 Dec. 19 Matthew 5:1-11
Dec. 9 Eph. 3:14-21 Dec. 20 2 Thess. 3:13-18
Dec. 10 1 John 3:1-3 Dec. 21 John 14:27-23
Dec. 11 John 1:9-18 Dec. 22 Romans 15:8-13
Dec. 12 John 14:8-11 Dec. 23 2 Cor. 12:7-10
Dec. 13 John 10:22-30 Dec. 24 2 Cor. 1:18-22
Dec. 14 Galatians 4:4-7
Dec. 15 John 16:25-28
Dec. 16 John 17:20-26
Dec. 17 Romans 8:12-17
Dec. 18 John 3:16-21
Pray Constantly This Advent
But how do we remember mercy in addition to the other themes of Advent, when our minds are full of remembering where the best sales are, when the next party is and what gifts we still need to buy and wrap. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul gives us a simple tip for managing all the stress and demands of the Advent season: pray constantly (1 Thes 5:17). A good way to pray constantly is with prayer mantras.
Our Sunday Visitor offers a wonderful way to pray your way through Advent!
Celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy with a great new free app from Our Sunday Visitor!
The theme for the year is 'Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,' reflected in the elements of the app, which include:
- Daily reflections on mercy
- Daily Scripture reflections
- Book excerpts
- Year of Mercy resources
- Pope Francis' tweets throughout the year
- Year of Mercy news stories
- Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena
- And more!
Apple Store OR Google Play
Why Purple? (Or Blue?)
by Rita Burns Senseman
With the start of Advent, you will likely see an Advent wreath as well as splashes of purple around the church. By now, you have heard Advent described as the four-week period prior to Christmas when Christians prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ.
So, why the purple? Purple is a penitential color. That means that the color is to remind us of our need to repent and change our hearts. The purple of Advent is a little different from the purple you may see during Lent. In fact, sometimes the purple we use during Advent has more of a blue undertone.(SSJP uses blue as do many other parishes in the area) This blue-purple is intended to distinguish the Advent season from the Lenten season. So, what is the difference? Both Advent and Lent have penitential themes. Lent is a longer, more intense time of spiritual recollection and penance.
Advent is a more hopeful season and our acts of penance are part of our preparation for the Lord’s coming both now and at the end of time. Thus, when we suggest that your child and your family do acts of penance, what we are suggesting is that you do something extra to help you focus more intentionally and prayerfully on the coming of the Messiah.
Although you may already have an activity or reflection booklet that gives you suggestions for each day of Advent, here are some other ideas that might be a bit more penitential in nature.
• Volunteer to deliver Christmas baskets to needy families. Or, volunteer to serve a meal at your local soup kitchen or work a shift at the food pantry.
What is Advent?
This basic outline of the Advent and Christmas season can give us a better understanding of ho wit all fits together and will prepare us for a more meaningful celebration of Jesus coming at Christmas.
OR, watch this catchy video that very quickly gives you a sense of what Advent SHOULD be all about.
by Rita Burns Senseman
With the start of Advent, you will likely see an Advent wreath as well as splashes of purple around the church. By now, you have heard Advent described as the four-week period prior to Christmas when Christians prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ.
So, why the purple? Purple is a penitential color. That means that the color is to remind us of our need to repent and change our hearts. The purple of Advent is a little different from the purple you may see during Lent. In fact, sometimes the purple we use during Advent has more of a blue undertone.(SSJP uses blue as do many other parishes in the area) This blue-purple is intended to distinguish the Advent season from the Lenten season. So, what is the difference? Both Advent and Lent have penitential themes. Lent is a longer, more intense time of spiritual recollection and penance.
Advent is a more hopeful season and our acts of penance are part of our preparation for the Lord’s coming both now and at the end of time. Thus, when we suggest that your child and your family do acts of penance, what we are suggesting is that you do something extra to help you focus more intentionally and prayerfully on the coming of the Messiah.
Although you may already have an activity or reflection booklet that gives you suggestions for each day of Advent, here are some other ideas that might be a bit more penitential in nature.
• Volunteer to deliver Christmas baskets to needy families. Or, volunteer to serve a meal at your local soup kitchen or work a shift at the food pantry.
- Make homemade Christmas cards and mail or deliver them to those who are homebound. The parish office will have a list of folks in your parish who are homebound. Or, contact your local assisted living facility to see if you might share your cards with the residents there, particularly residents who have no family members or friends nearby.
- Attend an Advent Penance and Reconciliation service at your parish or at a nearby parish. (SSJP will celebrate Penance on Dec. 14 at 7pm) Even if your child has not yet celebrated First Penance and Reconciliation, such services foster a spirit of penance and reflection.
- Use the Advent wreath as a focus of prayer before the evening meal. As you light each candle, pray “Come, Lord Jesus.” Then, bow your heads and observe thirty seconds of silence before you begin to eat.
- Make a special effort to pray before bedtime each night with your child. Use one of the traditional prayers of the Catholic faith. Or, pray spontaneously from your heart. You may also choose to sing an Advent song or refrain such as “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” or “Soon and Very Soon”.
What is Advent?
This basic outline of the Advent and Christmas season can give us a better understanding of ho wit all fits together and will prepare us for a more meaningful celebration of Jesus coming at Christmas.
OR, watch this catchy video that very quickly gives you a sense of what Advent SHOULD be all about.
Advent: A Time to Wait!
That's what we DO in Advent--WAIT! But how we wait makes all the difference in the kind of Christmas we will celebrate. The book Unplug the Christmas Machine points out four things that children really want for Christmas.
Examples:
That's what we DO in Advent--WAIT! But how we wait makes all the difference in the kind of Christmas we will celebrate. The book Unplug the Christmas Machine points out four things that children really want for Christmas.
- A relaxed and loving time with the family.
- Realistic expectations about gifts.
- An evenly paced holiday season.
- Reliable family traditions.
Examples:
- Decorating the tree can involve special music, snacks, and a tree blessing.
- Jesus, Lord of light, we stand in awe as we take our own parts in bringing light and beauty to this tree. We know the meaning of you as the Light to the World, but we never fully understand how far that light can reach and into how many corners it needs to be brought. Help us this Advent season not to hide our own lights under bushel baskets, but to shine them before all--to be radiant, happy, and loving people--showing forth your light in our very faces. Amen.
- Baking cookies with special icings and edible decorations can pass the time and can become gifts for others. Ask God's blessing on your creations and on those who will receive them.
- Setting up the Nativity scene can be a sacred family custom. Place the empty crib in it's prominent place with only the animals and the empty bed. Mary and Joseph have not begun the journey yet. Place them in the farthest bedroom away from the crib to await the time for the journey. During the last week of Advent move Mary and Joseph a little closer each day. Process from room to room as a family, so each child has a turn with the couple in their room. On Christmas Eve they arrive at the stable followed by the shepherds. Parents can place the baby in the crib after all have gone to bed so on Christmas morning we awake to the birth of the Christ child! The kings are still far a way and make their journey from Christmas day until January 6 when they arrive on the scene.
- During Advent your good deeds can be cause for adding straw to the crib for Jesus, to make his bed soft. Place a container of yellow yarn pieces or straw near the empty crib. Each family member places a piece in the crib each night for every kind act they did during the day.
