Looking out of my office window as I write, I see a very wintry, glistening scene that God has painted. The combination of blanketed and piled up snow gives brightness to, what seems to be, the entire world. Even though somewhere in my mind I know that the entire earth is not covered with snow, it appears to be, because the brightness that it brings is all I can see. The cold, December, Advent picture is magnified by glorious sunshine that seems to pull even more light from the cover. The cold temperatures have preserved white on trees, rooftops, signs, bushes and even wreaths hung on my neighbors’ homes. The earth is reNEWed by the cover of snow, mostly because of its bright color. It is all the same color—white, and so the result is a refreshing new and universal look to the world.
This year’s Holy Family theme is reNEW. We are being called to reNEW during Advent as we prepare for the coming of our God as one of us. We expect that He will be born in just the way that each of us was, thus bringing not only new life into the world but the newest and brightest, God’s new life in us, as one of us. We seek this most powerful new life to reNEW us at Christmas, and as the Christmas season unfolds. We seek Christ our savior aNEW. Perhaps the snow can both ignite our journey and continually remind us as we go our way.
Our hope is that the new life of God in Christ that comes to us at Christmas will propel us to reNEW in many ways as 2017 unfolds. We here at Holy Family will be encouraging every ministry to reNEW their purpose and energize their mission with new energy and vigor. This, quite simply, is an invitation to be an even HOLIER Family. I am asking you very directly to be the evangelizers of the many good, positive, creative, powerful and meaningful ministries that happen here at Holy Family every day. I am asking you to be harbingers of our many ministries and how they have enriched your faith life, and that of your family. I am asking you to promote the ambitious, creative and impactful activities and events that constitute our major ministering communities—Adult Faith, Family and Teen Faith, Holy Family Catholic Academy, Human Concerns, Liturgical Life, Music and Worship Technology, and Parish Support and Services.
There are also additional and very specific ways that we can all reNEW our Holy Family Community in the sacred days that lead up to Christmas. They include:
- Personally invite family and friends to join you, and us, at one of our Christmas Liturgies. The cover of our bulletin and our website, give the dates and times of our liturgies. Let these beautiful prayer experiences reNEW your spiritual journey and that of your loved ones.
- Sign up in the Narthex to serve as one of our Liturgical ministers at one of our Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Liturgies.
- Sign your children up to participate in one of our Christmas Liturgies.
- Be a greeter at one of our Christmas Liturgies to welcome our many visitors and guests.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, attend our Beloved Retreat beginning Friday, January 20 and concluding Sunday the 22nd led by Dr. Terry Nelson-Johnson. You may recall that Terry led our Parish Lenten Mission last year, directs his own enterprise entitled Soul Play, and serves the people of Old St. Patrick’s Parish in the city. A retreat is probably the best way to reNEW your spiritual energy and focus. When did you last attend a retreat? Have you ever done a retreat? Terry has led his Beloved Retreat many times. Believe me, I have been on many retreats and some have been quite churchy. Terry’s Beloved Retreat will move and inspire you in ways that you simply won’t, or don’t, expect. He is both entertaining and inspiring and the experience is well worth it. The Beloved Retreat will be held on the grounds of Mundelein Seminary in nearby Mundelein, a beautiful place that truly invites reflection and reNEWal. Terry’s premise is that we are all the Beloved of God, and we experience this through several powerful movements of God’s spirit within us. Take a flyer available in our Narthex and contact our Adult Faith Office for details.
This weekend’s scriptures inspire a sense of expectation and fulfillment. From Isaiah we hear the prediction that, “… the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” Paul’s letter to the Romans reiterates the promises of the prophets that Jesus Christ fulfills. Matthew’s Gospel passage tells us that Joseph experiences significant anxiety regarding the unexpected pregnancy of his betrothed, Mary. He has concern for the shame it would bring her, and his own fears, but God’s messenger, the angel, calms his fears and redirects him, reNEWs his path, if you will, and quotes Isaiah’s prophetic message that is fulfilled with the assistance of his faith. He then stays with Mary to support her and takes her into his home. Let us take the stories of Mary, Isaiah, Paul to the Romans, and Matthew into our home this Advent and Christmas in a reNEWed way.
Tell these stories to each other in a new way. Make them as bright as the snow, and when they finally melt into your soul may they spring forth with even NEWer life.