December promises to be an exciting month.  Although the pandemic will dampen many of our group activities, we will be doing our best to continue our Christmas traditions.  Some will be virtual or recorded, including Advent Celebrations, Advent Mass, and elementary Christmas Concert. In addition, we are planning to have some fun activities near the end of the month.  We will feel the Christmas spirit at our school.

Advent is a special time.  To me, Advent has two messages.  One is the buildup to the celebration of the birth of Christ.  This buildup includes the season of Advent and the call to “make ready the way of the Lord.” By focusing on the themes of Advent, we can definitely “make ready the way of the Lord”:

• HOPE – HOPE is a core belief in our faith.  Let us be HOPEful tools to express God’s love to another.  Let us serve others not out of obligation but in the hope that the kingdom of God is in our midst.
• PEACE – We pray for the people suffering from conflict, whether the conflict is near or far.  We pray for a PEACEful solution to all conflict, conflict in our community or conflict in our world.  Our actions for the common good allow PEACE to grow.
• JOY – May we JOYfully use the gifts that God has given us.  Let us use our many gifts to spread JOY to everyone.  We experience JOY in understanding creation and serving others.
• LOVE – God, we know you are with us and in us.  We thank you for the sign of your LOVE in the many gifts you give us.  We are empowered to make positive choices by God’s gift of LOVE.  Every day, we choose to LOVE our neighbour.

The second message of Advent is that we do not have to wait.  God is with us now, here in our lives.  In the words of Mother Teresa, “It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you…yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand.”

May this Advent and Christmas season be a time of great joy to everyone.

God Bless,

Greg Kostiuk

Advent Prayer

O God,
rejoicing, we remember the promise of your Son.
As we light our advent candles,
may the blessing of Christ come upon us,
brightening our way
and guiding us by his truth.
May Christ our Savior bring life
into the darkness of our world,
and to us, as we wait for his coming.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen