Welcome to the Third Week of Advent! As we continue our Advent retreat, here’s a brief reflection to start your week. Please share your retreat experience with others here throughout the week in the comments.
The Third Week of Advent: Rejoice, Because the Lord Is Near!Petition: Ask for the grace to live in the joyous expectation of the Lord’s coming, who comes to bring us the grace of salvation.
The teacher who helps a child solve a problem; the teenager who stops to share a word and a sandwich with a homeless person; the activist who insists on justice for the asylum seeker; the neighbor who looks out for the latchkey kids on the block—they are all reflecting the glory of the Lord.
—Excerpted from 2011: A Book of Grace-Filled Days by Margaret Silf
In my parish today the Confirmation candidates put on a Christmas skit for the little kids, and then led everyone attending in several Christmas carols. Meanwhile, other parishioners were collecting Christmas presents contributed by their fellow parishioners, and then they convoyed to a sister-parish in the inner city in several trucks, to distribute the presents to those families. It was one of the best Christmas/Advent experiences I can remember!