Happy Second Sunday of Advent!

We’re back to my favorite liturgical season of the year. It comes like a whirlwind on the heels of Thanksgiving and is with us for only four short weeks. As happened last year at this time, I feel like I’ve been in and out of Hobby Lobby just slowly buying up all of their Christmas inventory, ha. I love the decorations of the season, and now that the Lord has seen fit to name me as a pastor, I’m envisioning, year by year, how the beautiful dreams for our church spaces can gradually come into fuller fruition.  Progress is always wonderful to see. Last Sunday afternoon, Fr. Christian and I managed to put up and decorate the Christmas tree in the rectory. A few garlands over the lintels, some tabletop Christmas figurines here and there, lights along the rooftop, and bam—we are officially festive for the season.

Two weeks ago, I sped through all the weekend homilies at both parishes for our diocesan campaign for Catholic education, and I’m grateful to you, our parish families, who continue to show your willingness to offer sacrifices for the Lord in support of this mission. Sometimes for me also it can seem like a lot to ask, with all the various requests for material and financial means. Like the hungry mouths of our children at the dinner table, in this life we are continually stretched by the needs and responsibilities which require our never-ending attention.

In my own life, the Lord is patiently teaching me how spiritually important they are. My faithfulness to the “never-ending” matters—whether large or small, daily or periodic—is in His will for my sanctification. I’m trying to keep in mind how the day of my personal judgment will unfold. I want to make continued progress where lack of maturity, woundedness, or selfishness still bind me and cause me to draw back. I want to go from unwilling-to-sacrifice toward willing-to-sacrifice. Then I want to go from willing-to-sacrifice toward love-of-sacrifice. Jesus, help me!

Advent is a time for all of us, my brothers and sisters, to let the love of Jesus teach us and guide us further along the way of our salvation. Everywhere we look, including in the mirror, we are watching all people go through life for the first time.  Everybody, no matter our age, is still in some stage of, “I’m figuring it out,” still in some stage of, “I have more yet to go.”  We are privileged to walk together, pray for each other, provide for each other, and strive as a community of disciples to be holier than we were last year. Let us make good use of these days to choose the self-sacrifice which brings good to others.

Lastly, mark your calendars for Friday, December 12th at 6 p.m. St. Robert will be hosting an Advent Lessons and Carols service at the church as part of our 24-hour Advent adoration. All are welcome—come and go as you please—and enjoy this 19th-century Christmas tradition of prayer and hymnody. The service will be about one hour in length. This year, I wanted to offer my own gift of music and so will be the accompanying pianist for our cantors, which I am excited for! Hopefully we will see you there as we spend this special time with our Lord, who has come among us in the flesh to be with us always.

Fr. Brian

Entry Four: Do I Persevere?

It is amazing how this liturgical year is coming to a close, with Advent marking the beginning of a new one. This year has been filled with so many blessings from the Lord. I graduated, I was ordained a priest, I was positioned at an incredible parish, and the Lord continues to bless me through all of your faithful witnesses of living out the faith.

As I write this, I am reminded of all the beautiful things the Lord has done in my life—especially during a Jubilee Year for our Church. But I can’t help but wonder: do I do this enough? Do I remind myself often enough of all that the Lord has done for me? Am I grateful enough?

It is so easy to be distracted by the activities of daily life and lose sight of God and His works, especially when times become difficult. When things are not going the way I want them to, when there is tragedy in our parish families or community, or when I am experiencing some kind of suffering, it becomes much more difficult to see God working during those times. I become so fixated on the tragedies and sufferings that I lose sight of God and what He has done for me.

During this last month, I have certainly struggled with this. I have been sick a couple of times, I have celebrated more funerals than I thought I would, and I’ve doubted whether what I’m doing is actually making a difference. At times, I have felt defeated. I’ve had the thought, “Christian, you are just starting out—how can you keep this up for the rest of your life?” It’s an honest thought, but one that comes from my own ignorance. I forget at times that it is not me doing this work of a priest; God Himself is the one who does the work. I am not alone in this ministry or in my life. Despite what the world tells me, God is always with me. He is the one who gives me the strength to enter a hospital room full of family members watching helplessly as one of their loved ones passes. God is always with me—but I forget, because the difficulty of the situation makes it seem as though I am all there is and that God is absent.

Our Lord presents us with signs that will occur before His glorious second coming in the Gospel today: “Wars and insurrections… Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes, famines, and plagues; awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” These signs, our Lord says, will occur. However, before all these things happen, He also tells us: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.”

We will be handed over because of Jesus’ name. This is not a very cheerful message, but a warning and an alert—a message we must all heed, especially me. It reminds us that a life that chooses to follow Jesus does not mean all problems will disappear or that our lives will be perfect. Rather, there will be suffering and pain. But do we persevere in it? Do we trust that our Lord is with us in the midst of it, suffering with us? Do we turn to Him and let Him know that what we are going through hurts and is hard? Do we listen to His response when He says, “I know it hurts. I am right here with you.”

Jesus says, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” I know this is something I must always work on—persevering in the midst of suffering and turning to Him, the King of Kings, who endured infinitely more suffering than I ever could by bearing the weight of all sin in His death. We have a God who has not abandoned us, but one who knows exactly what we are going through.

May I learn to turn to Him more in my times of suffering and pain.

You can help save lives when you give blood. A blood drive will be held 12:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, December 30 at Good Shepherd Church in the Knights of Columbus Hall.

The event is co-sponsored by the Good Shepherd Knights of Columbus Council 8669. For more information or appointment, visit redcrossblood.org (sponsor code: Montrose) or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).  Give the perfect gift.  Give Blood.

Streamline your donation experience and save up to 15 minutes by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass to complete your pre-donation reading and health history questions on the day of your appointment.

Give Something that Means Something