EXTEND CHRISTMAS TO THE WHOLE YEAR, ESPECIALLY THIS YEAR

Some thoughts on what Christmas tells us about the lengths to which God is willing to go in oder to reach out to us. Am I letting Him enter my life and my heart?  God could have created us so that we were forced to be attentive to Him. But God didn’t. God leaves us free to choose to fall in love with God and God’s goodness or to settle for what we think is our own “merry” way.  What am I really choosing?

 

SHARE THE JOY

These are a few of the faith stories shared by parishioners of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri in their Advent-Chirstmas Season Share the Joy videos.

Stone, who entered the Catholic Church because of the joy he found in fellow college students, in recent months asked himself, “Why is this pandemic stressing me out and what can I do about it?”

Maria: Even with COVID-19, there’s always something that you can do to make it easier to keep joyful. One way is to spend some time thinking about the blessings in your life.

Life can be hard for long stretches of time. As one Dan explains, “Our ‘faith as a family’ helped us get through the rough times.” About the present, he admits, “The pandemic shutdown was hard for an outgoing guy. Not being able to go to Mass was difficult for me.”

Young Presbyterian Baily and her Catholic boyfriend tried each other’s church services, Baily hoping the he would like her church’s services but, instead, she “fell in love” with the Catholic faith. She says that to her “joy is more a posture than an emotion that comes and goes.  It’s a lifestyle. We can have joy in the midst of trials, like a world pandemic, because our God’s the God of promises.”

What bring me joy during this pandemic?

Sister Loretta