The Catholic world is filled right now with a determination to make this Advent a meaningful season. The faithful are rediscovering that Advent was originally a penitential season second only to Lent. They are renewing the traditions of Ember Days and fasting during this season as they seek to make themselves ready for the arrival of the Christ Child. The "Spirit of Vatican II" generation is seeking to regain what has been lost in the last 40 years in terms of focus and tradition and they are eagerly embracing self-denial and somberness as a contrast for the celebration of Christmas which is coming.
It is a shame that we do not embrace the feast days with the same fervor.
The modern faithful are good at self-denial. We excel at penitence. We eagerly embrace the hardships of Lent, and now Advent, and use these times to draw ourselves ever closer to God, but we forget the rest of it. We forget the joy. We pass too quickly over the reward.
Our lives are enriched by Advent wreaths, Jesse trees, and praying the O Antiphons; but when was the last time we celebrated the Presentation in the Temple, or threw a party to celebrate Epiphany? Do we celebrate them, or have then just faded into being a part of January?
Where once Christmas was a celebration stretching from December 25th to the Feast of Epiphany on January 6th and then on to the Baptism of Our Lord in February, modern Catholics can barely bring ourselves to spend more than a day in the Christmas season before the tree is down, the decorations are boxed up, and exhausted parents everywhere declare that we are "glad that that is over." Christmas Day itself expends its energy in an orgy of present unwrapping long before lunchtime, then it becomes about work, travel and trying to cram in seeing as many people as possible before the 2 year old melts down into a fit at Grandma's house.
Come Monday morning, we will either be back in the stores hunting for bargains or back in the office at work and Ordinary Time will have descended upon us once more. No wonder we are exhausted. We have created our faith lives to mirror the way we live. It is all rush and busyness without a moment set aside to just bask in the overflowing joy of Christmas.
Our liturgical calendar is broken up into feast days, penitential seasons, and ordinary time. Why do we so eagerly ignore one third of the calendar? Why are we so fervent in the things which discipline our spirits and deny ourselves, and yet we are so dispassionate about the days which God has given us for our souls to soar?
Why are we afraid of merriment and revelry? They, too, are part of God's plan.
This year, why not change things? Embrace the trials of Advent. Push yourself as far as prayer and self-denial, but when it is over, be sure to treasure the Christmas season as well. Find the joy. Lift your voice in song and praise. Remember that this time of year is a gift and treat it that way, and don't allow yourself to slip back into the everyday drudge of ordinary time before you actually get there.
6 comments:
Thanks for the encouragement! I was just reflecting this weekend that we do a whole lot in our house focused on Advent but other than enjoying our decorations until the Baptism of the Lord, we don't have many traditions for the Christmas season. I'll be looking for ideas to help us celebrate and find the joy as you say!
Great thoughts and great writing.
Awesome! You make such a good point when you talk about seasons and feast... a sort of ebb and flow of our lives spiritually and logistically.
Reminds me of this post:
http://fatheracervo.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/recovering-our-feasts/
Love how you look at things... helps us so much.
One thing I really appreciate about my fiance is that he makes me celebrate feast days. On any of our Feast days we usually make or buy some cake and have wine if it's not in a penitential season.
One thing I'd note though (the only reason I know this is cause we generally like to go to the Traditional Mass) is that Ordinary time is an invention of the New Calendar. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it at all, really. But I think it's really cool that the liturgical year in the old form is all based off of the two major Solemnities.
The entire liturgical year traditionally has either Christmas or Easter as its reference point. Instead of Ordinary time, there is the Season After Epiphany, and then there is the Season After Pentecost.
You can take the Liturgical year to symbolize the whole or Christianity. From the anticipation for the Christ, to the Incarnation, to the life, passion, and death of Our Lord, and then to Pentecost, which leads us right back to the anticipation for him again!
My problem, to some degree, is that I'm not sure what to do to celebrate the full season of Christmas. We do the usual Christmas things on the 25th and we celebrate the Epiphany with a few activities for the kids but a lot of the things I would do for the Christmas season are done during Advent because that's when society does them (attending concerts, making gingerbread houses with friends, parties, donating to our church's food pantry). What traditions do you all have to you maintain through the Christmas season?
I get a kick out of your blog, enjoying everything from the insightful pieces to silly anecdotes and because of this I have nominated you for a Liebster blog award. Now, it isn't as prestigious as awards you have won in the past, but it is my way of saying: Thank you for taking the time to write and I am enjoying it very much!
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