Advent and New Year
Advent means it's a New Year. Sometimes we forget. Who can blame us? We're busy going about our business, trying to earn a living, raise our families. It's especially tough in these tough times. So it's understandable, in one sense, that we Catholic men at work let the Church's Liturgical Year slip through the cracks - I suppose.
But in another sense, it's not understandable.
Look: the Church - the Holy Roman Catholic Church founded by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, isn't just another "organization" out there we have to deal with in our lives. The Church is us - especially us Catholic men at work busy going about our business, trying to earn a living, raise our families, and all that good stuff. If we don't pay attention to the Church's Liturgical Year, what sort of "signal" does that send to our families? That it really isn't important? That it doesn't matter?
That's why I shared my idea of planning your business for next year so that your plan would be in place for the first Sunday in Advent - the first day of the New Year, the Church's New Year.
Listen: Start the New Year right. Get your business and your house in order. If you haven't completed your Plan for 2012 do it now. If you want some help doing that, you can start here and follow the subsequent posts.
But, life isn't just your business. It's everything. Most of all, it's your striving to be holy. It's your day to day struggle to be a saint. So Advent - the start of the New Year - gives you the chance to start striving again.
Strive to be a saint. Aim for Heaven. Do it 24/7 - and that includes your work day. Don't let the stress and strain of daily work distract you from being a saint. Start fresh.
I know. It's easy to say, harder to do. So what? Hard is good. Striving is everything.
Just keep striving every day. Don't think about how hard things are. It's not up to you whether you succeed or not. It's up to God. God decides if and when we succeed. We work. We strive. We relentlessly keep pushing.
Advent reminds us that Our Lord - God - humbled Himself and joined the party. Remember that He put Himself through the wringer, the daily grind. He worked. He pushed every day, day to day.
He didn't take the easy way. He came to live among us starting with being born in a manger. Remember all this each and every day of Advent. Pray. Ask Him:
But in another sense, it's not understandable.
Look: the Church - the Holy Roman Catholic Church founded by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, isn't just another "organization" out there we have to deal with in our lives. The Church is us - especially us Catholic men at work busy going about our business, trying to earn a living, raise our families, and all that good stuff. If we don't pay attention to the Church's Liturgical Year, what sort of "signal" does that send to our families? That it really isn't important? That it doesn't matter?
That's why I shared my idea of planning your business for next year so that your plan would be in place for the first Sunday in Advent - the first day of the New Year, the Church's New Year.
Listen: Start the New Year right. Get your business and your house in order. If you haven't completed your Plan for 2012 do it now. If you want some help doing that, you can start here and follow the subsequent posts.
But, life isn't just your business. It's everything. Most of all, it's your striving to be holy. It's your day to day struggle to be a saint. So Advent - the start of the New Year - gives you the chance to start striving again.
Strive to be a saint. Aim for Heaven. Do it 24/7 - and that includes your work day. Don't let the stress and strain of daily work distract you from being a saint. Start fresh.
I know. It's easy to say, harder to do. So what? Hard is good. Striving is everything.
Just keep striving every day. Don't think about how hard things are. It's not up to you whether you succeed or not. It's up to God. God decides if and when we succeed. We work. We strive. We relentlessly keep pushing.
Advent reminds us that Our Lord - God - humbled Himself and joined the party. Remember that He put Himself through the wringer, the daily grind. He worked. He pushed every day, day to day.
He didn't take the easy way. He came to live among us starting with being born in a manger. Remember all this each and every day of Advent. Pray. Ask Him:
Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in my heart!
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