A Letter From Our Cathedral Rector: Understanding the Signposts of a Graceful Advent

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

The season of Advent offers many themes as we continue our journey through the pandemic.

HOPE... We have confidence during Advent that Jesus will come into our lives just as He came into the world as a baby born in a stable in Bethlehem. That spirit of hope permeates our lives as we move day by day through this challenging time. We know that our God is the giver of gifts and that God has given us the greatest gift of all in His Son. We hope and pray for the gift of a vaccine and the transition back into normal life. A hope-inspired vision is at the heart of our sense of mission.

PATIENCE... We do need to wait — just as the world waited for the right time for the Messiah to come into the world. So, we need to wait for the right time to return to larger attendance at Mass and other public events. We need to wait for the safe time to live without masks and to be closer together. We need to realize that our impatience will put ourselves and others in jeopardy.

HISTORY... There have been pandemics before — the world has made it through them. Also, salvation history tells us that our spiritual ancestors, the Jews, faced a tremendous ordeal as they wandered in the desert for those 40 years. God was with them as they made wrong turns and wrong decisions and even rejected what they knew was right. They lost faith in their leader Moses and vacillated in their faith in God — but God always stayed with them and gave them a second chance. God is with us as we make our way through the desert of the pandemic.

CONVERSION... Advent is a time to repent, to change our lives, and to reorganize our priorities. During these days, as we have been forced to be quieter, more home-focused, and more careful, many of us are growing in our appreciation of the simple pleasures of life, and the idea of giving has taken on a new dimension as we realize what is most important in life.

GRATITUDE... Advent follows our national holiday of Thanksgiving. We have been blessed in many ways — great people are part of our lives, and simple pleasures and joys are offering some sparks to days that seem all too flat. Gratitude fortifies and drives our desire to be a giver. Gratitude takes us to God and leads us to reflective prayer and its attendant peace.

AWARENESS... We are called to live with our eyes open. A traditional Advent theme is to be alert, to stay awake. Our awareness frees us to see the needs of brothers and sisters who are struggling in life-and-death situations. Our awareness leads us to sense the presence of God in our world. As we discipline ourselves to see with the eyes of faith, we become more and more aware of the love of God which motivated Christ to come into our world as Jesus, the Light of the world

GIFT-GIVING... Advent is a time for shopping. Our safety protocols will guide us to do less shopping in the stores and to scale down the occasions to exchange presents. This will not be easy to do. But many of us will feel a call to be a gift-giver in some other ways and to give more generously than usual to charitable causes, to groups dedicated to social change, and to the Church. This year’s strange Advent season will be an opportunity for us to reflect on and to prioritize our charitable giving.

These seven themes fit within the matrix of Advent’s many signposts. May we all make this journey together in a way that is full of grace.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Paul Prabell, Rector

Fr. Paul Prabell, Rector

Don’t Forget to Return Your Commitment Card!

Please remember to turn in your commitment cards to the parish as soon as possible. We appreciate your willingness to participate in this year’s Stewardship Renewal. The more we grow to embrace and understand the stewardship way of life, the more our parish will flourish and grow!