The Advent To-Do List

So it's already Day 3 of Advent, and if you, like me, have been procrastinating on making some Advent decisions, this post is here to help you out! It's so easy to get bogged down by searching for the perfect Advent discipline (apt enough, not too hard, not too easy, unique enough) and never get down to making some concrete decisions. Not that different from New Year's Resolutions and Lenten penances.

Here's the thing though. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to happen. Do something.

I'm not going to give you a bunch of options in case you have a hard time choosing between them. Just follow this calendar, and make sure you don't stop. (If you already have something you've decided on, awesome! Let me know in the comments.) If you miss a day, just keep going, and do it another day if possible. If a particular task is not possible one day, switch it with another day. Read your task a day before, so you can add it to your schedule.

Day 3 of 24
Tuesday, 3rd December, 2019

Read this post about Advent and spend five minutes in silence asking God for the grace to make space for Him in your heart this month. [10 minutes]

Day 4 of 24
Wednesday, 4th December, 2019
Listen to the latest Abiding Together podcast: The Light Shines in the Darkness and journal: How is Satan is using fear to keep me away from God? [45 minutes]

Day 5 of 24
Thursday, 5th December, 2019
Before going to bed, do an Examen. Reflect on your day, and where you encountered God. Thank Him for the times you responded to His love, and ask forgiveness for the times you did not. Make a decision for tomorrow. [15 minutes]

Day 6 of 24
Friday, 6th December, 2019
Go for Mass. Journal: What is one thing God said to me during Mass today? [1 hour]

Day 7 of 24
Saturday, 7th December, 2019
Visit an Adoration chapel and tell Him about a problem you don't know how to solve. Try to be quiet and open to His response. [30 minutes]

Day 8 of 24
Sunday, 8th December 2019
It's the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pray a Memorare or nine Memorares for the intention of someone who is suffering in some way (infertility, physical sickness, mental health, grief). The Memorare is not magic, but a powerful prayer calling out to a powerful intercessor. [15 minutes.]

Day 9 of 24
Monday, 9th December, 2019
Read Isaiah 40:11 several times slowly.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, 
Carrying them in his bosom, leading the ewes with care.
Imagine God holding you close to his heart. Stay in His embrace for a while.Then go and give someone a hug and remind them that God loves them. [20 minutes.]

Day 10 of 24
Tuesday, 10th December, 2019
Sing a worship song out loud. Even if you feel stupid singing by yourself. Sacrifice your dignity and receive His freedom in exchange. [15 minutes.]

Day 11 of 24
Wednesday, 11th December. 2019
Read Matthew 11: 28-30. Write down the list of burdens you are handing over to God. [20 minutes.]

Day 12 of 24
Thursday, 12th December, 2019
Read about Our Lady of Guadalupe and pray a Rosary for all nations to come to know Jesus. [30 minutes.]

Day 13 of 24
Friday, 13th December, 2019
Go for Mass. Read Psalm 1 slowly before you go. [45 minutes]

Day 14 of 24
Saturday, 14th December, 2019
Think about someone who has hurt your feelings or offended you recently. Ask God for the grace to forgive them from the heart, and to give up all thoughts of blame, accusation and resentment. Pray for that person's needs. [30 minutes.]

Day 15 of 24
Sunday, 15th December, 2019
It's Gaudete Sunday - share the joy of Christ by texting, calling or visiting someone you had been estranged from (could be yesterday's person). [5 minutes - 1 hour]

Day 16 of 24
Monday, 16th December, 2019
Pray the Divine Office today. [30 minutes]

Day 17 of 24
Tuesday, 17th December, 2019
Make a plan with your family or a group of friends to reach out personally to someone in need this month. [1 hour]

Day 18 of 24
Wednesday, 18th December, 2019
Buy a gift for someone you know who is likely to be in need. Think especially of domestic workers and their children, big families, and people who have lost their jobs recently. If you don't know anyone like that, ask your parish priest. [30 minutes]

Day 19 of 24
Thursday, 19th December, 2019
Wake up in the morning and before touching your phone, give thanks to God for ten blessings. [10  minutes.]

Day 20 of 24
Friday, 20th December. 2019
Go to Mass and visit an Adoration chapel. Invite a friend who wouldn't usually do that to accompany you. [1 hour]

Day 21 of 24
Saturday, 21st December, 2019
Make a morning offering. Through the day, remember to say "I'm doing this for You, Jesus'" as you run errands and get things done. [5 minutes]

Day 22 of 24
Sunday, 22nd December, 2019
Read Eight Tips to Surviving Christmas and make a plan for Christmas week that incorporates the tips. [30 minutes]

Day 23 of 24
Monday, 23rd December, 2019
Visit an Adoration Chapel and re-surrender everything on your mind and heart, especially family tensions and unfulfilled desires. [45  minutes.]

Day 24 of 24
Tuesday, 24th December, 2019
Read Matthew 1: 18 -25. Draw a sketch and place yourself in the Christmas story. Listen to Wonder by Bethel. [45 minutes]

Let me know if you are using this calendar, and if you'd like me to create a printable pdf version. Have a Holy Advent!

Related Reading

Hey, It’s Not Christmas Yet!

On Waiting

Changing My Christmas Wish List

Changing My Christmas Wish List

When I was thirteen years old, my older sister got asked out for a Christmas dance held at our local parish. It was an exciting event for us all, with the first teenager of the family (she was 16) stepping into the new and unfamiliar world of going for dances, dates and romance in general. I still remember the young man coming to pick her up from my grandparents’ home where the rest of the family was doing the usual family Christmas. He wore a silver shirt, had an earring (yes, that was cool back in 1999) and brought her a bouquet of red roses with lady’s lace (that’s a kind of flower). We swooned, and I promised myself that one day I too would be asked out to a Christmas dance and it would just as dramatic and exciting. My post-school future seemed filled with potential.

Well, that never happened. When I was sixteen, no one asked me out, the guys in my life were either too shy to ask or were deterred by the fact that they couldn’t take a girl to a dance on a bicycle which was the only mode of transportation they had in junior college. I spent several Christmases sulking because I had still never got asked to a dance. Over the years, there was always something or the other to be disappointed by during Christmas. It was usually related to my social life, the parties that we organized or were invited to. The question was always – what are we doing for Christmas?

I remember the year that changed. The question came up again, and this time I thought - What about all the other people who don’t belong to the cool world of social events? What do THEY do for Christmas? Probably stay at home and feel left out too. That year I decided to organize my own party for people who didn’t have anything else to do for Christmas. It was fun! We played games, ate leftover Christmas lunch, and enjoyed each other’s company.

Maybe it was maturity. Maybe it was my deepening Christian faith. But I finally began to ask better questions, and desire better things. As long as I was chasing my own pleasure, I just couldn’t ‘get no satisfaction’. But joy is deeper than pleasure, and I began to find it when I asked for and expected different things.

Over this last decade of Christmases I have had many, many special moments of joy. But many of them were things I probably wouldn’t have imagined being enough when I was thirteen. I stopped going to parties for the most part, and hung out with family a lot more. I had cozy evenings in, sipping Bailey’s and watching movies. I had the joy of coming up with fun gifts for my family members, and the very, very special joy of seeing Christmas through my little nieces’ eyes. One year my sister and I became ‘Secret Angels’ who dropped off cookies at people’s homes without them seeing us.

This Christmas I invited over a few kids from the school I serve with to make Christmas sweets with me for their families since their mums are maids and are even busier during Christmas. On Christmas day I visited an Adoration chapel to spend time with the Birthday Boy. I spent time just hanging out with the people I love. This Christmas was extra special because I got to spend a lot of time with a new and important man in my life.

My Christmases have become slower and less glamorous, but richer and deeper. In Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis says “Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others.”

Some people already know this secret. I am still learning it. But it just takes that one moment when you step back and ask yourself – ‘What am I chasing? And is it really worth it?” Maybe we all need to make some changes to our Christmas wish list.

Related Reading 

Are You Going to a Christmas Dance?

Five Christmas Gifts- Stories of Hope

Eight Tips to Surviving Christmas

Christmas Highlights - 2013

7 Christmas Quick Takes - 2014

7 Christmas Quick Takes - 2015 

Hey, It’s Not Christmas Yet!

I promise I’m not trying to be the Grinch or Scrooge here, but I just want to hit a pause on the whole ‘Yay it’s December so let’s decorate our houses, start playing Christmas carols and spread the Christmas cheer!’ I’m all about Christmas cheer… but IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS YET!

So what, you say? I know it’s tempting, guys. Christmas can be magical, and who wants to miss out on some Christmas magic? This is what it comes down to – God wants to give you much, much more than mere Christmas cheer. And that’s why we have Advent.

I remember often thinking when I was younger, “Why do they keep saying we are preparing for the coming of Baby Jesus during Advent? Didn’t he already come as a baby a long time ago?” I was reminded by a friend a few days ago that the liturgical readings of the first three weeks of Advent focus on the Second Coming of Christ, and it’s only in the last week that we are commemorating the FIRST Coming when Jesus came as a baby.

When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Saviour's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. CCC 524 

Advent is all about expectancy, waiting, and ardent desire.

We’re all waiting for something. For so many single people, it is a waiting for the right person to come along. For many young couples, it is a longing for a child. For some, it is a hunger for peace and reconciliation within their families, or a longing for freedom from anxiety, depression or addiction for themselves or for someone dear to them.

But deeper within those desires, there is a longing, a desire for fulfilment, a deep ache for something more. Advent is a chance to recognize that desire is really for Jesus, that our hearts are hungry for Him. But the beautiful, exciting thing is that HE IS COMING. Just as the world waited in darkness for the coming of the dawn for centuries before Jesus arrived as a baby in an unknown corner of the world, He has PROMISED He will return, and that He will bring salvation to all those who desire it. He will wipe away every tear, He will right every wrong, He will satisfy every desire of your heart. 

Take heart, my friends! Lift your eyes and see – HE IS COMING! The Second Coming is the end of the world, and we do need to be ready. But for many of us, it may be our own deaths that may come first, and that we need to prepare our hearts for. But there is another coming – the daily coming of Christ. Heaven starts here on earth, if only we desire it enough. ‘God is always trying to give us good things, but our hands are too full to receive them' said Saint Augustine. Which is why we have Advent. We need to stretch our hearts to make room for heaven. We need to empty our hands and open them before God. In a world of instant gratification, we need to consciously choose to embrace the waiting, even when it is tinged with pain.

How can we embrace Advent? I know it’s not much time left, but here’s your chance to redeem the next week

1. Set aside time every day to visit an Adoration chapel. Bring the deepest longings and desires of your heart to Jesus, and just sit with Him in the waiting.

2. Put away your Christmas music and fill your home with Advent music. What’s Advent music? Any music that focuses on waiting, on expectation, on the coming of Christ.

• Waiting Here for You – Jesus Culture 
• Take Courage – Kristene DiMarco 
• Waiting for the Dawn – Salt of the Sound (album) 
• O Come, O Come Emmanuel - The Piano Guys (haunting version) 
• O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Bethel Kids (catchy version) 
• Glory Cry The Angel Choirs - Ed Conlin (Only for Christmas Eve, can someone PLEASE sing this at a Midnight Mass choir and invite me?) 
• I Wonder As I Wander - Audrey Assad 
• Behold - Hillsong 
• Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence - Aly Aleigha 
• O Come to the Altar - Elevation Worship 
• I Will Trust In You - Lauren Daigle 
• Song of Solomon - Martin Smith 
• Even So Come - Passion 
• Our Hearts Will Rise - Ed Conlin 

3. Make an Advent wreath, light a candle every night, and read the liturgical readings. Or pray the Divine Office. The riches and wisdom of the Church shine through the Divine Office.

4. Listen to an Abiding Together podcast every day. I suggest these ones:

• Waiting 
• Advent and the Fellowship of the Feminine Genius – Part 1 
• Advent and the Fellowship of the Feminine Genius Part 2 – Interview with Ali Hoffman 
• The Principles of Abiding 
• Belonging – Advent Part 1 
• Beloved – Advent Part 2 
• Be Still – Advent Part 3 
• Believe – Advent Part 4 
• Hope in Seasons of Darkness 
• Striving Vs. Abiding 

5. Pick one personal act of love to do every day until Christmas:

• Write a letter to a friend 
• Pack a few groceries and find someone to give it to 
• Send an affirming or encouraging text to someone who needs it 
• Hug your family members and tell them you love them 
• Forgive someone who has hurt you 
• Drop in and visit an old relative 

I pray all you have an Advent that allows you to receive more fully the JOY of Christmas. I will be working on some of these things too. Let me know how it goes!

Related Reading and More Advent Song Lists 

Favorite Catholic Advent Songs

10 Advent Songs To Cure the Christmas Craziness 

Eight Tips to Surviving Christmas

Five Christmas Gifts- Stories of Hope

As we fight the good fight against negativity, and strive to not just survive but thrive this Christmas (yes, I really just did that), it helps to notice and share the little and big signs of hope that we see. I constantly see signs to panic, signs that people are weak and judgmental and cold, that the world is going to hell and I want to scream, “Stop the earth, I want to get off!” But that’s not a true reflection of reality, is it? Love continues to fertilize and water the dry earth, and wherever it does, the seed that God plants sprouts and grows, and I catch a glimpse of hope and beauty. These signs of hope are my Christmas gifts to you.

-The Gift of a Birthday Sacrifice- 

A young wife and mother that I know comes from a humble and far from wealthy background (she recently moved out of the slum where she lived with her husband and his family). Most people cling to their hard-won privilege. But this young woman heard that we were raising money to send groceries to poor families from a school we work with. She texted me and told me, “My birthday is this month, so we plan this year that I will not buy new clothes and we will not have a party at home, and that money my husband wants you to give to two families which will help them for Christmas.”

Wow. I had tears in my eyes as I read her message. Mother Teresa said, “Love to be real, it must cost – it must hurt – it must empty us of self.” I don’t think I give very often with that real sacrificial heart.

-The Gift of a Home- 

Another friend and relative casually mentioned last month that she had practically adopted a young boy who they had rescued from the streets in the town where her family lives. Her family had befriended and tried to help his mother who was homeless and troubled, and they gave this young boy a part-time job around their property, put him in a better school (than the public one where the teachers never showed up), and eventually he began to sleep in their home, sharing a room with her son. He adores her, and follows her around.

Again, wow. I know lots of people who want to help the poor (as I do), and come up with projects or programmes or make donations. But how many of us are willing to care enough about anyone enough to be personally inconvenienced by them, to open our homes to them, and love them? I’m inspired. I think the key seems to be open your eyes to the people in front of you, and start there.

-The Gift of Literacy- 

I stopped by my great-aunt’s home the other day to drop off something. She lives next door to us, and we have a very friendly middle-aged maid who cooks for her and stays with her during the day. But when I opened the door, I saw my mother and the maid sitting side by side, heads buried in a notebook. That’s when I realized my mother was teaching her how to read and write. She practises in her notebook when she is free. Again, what a simple and small way to love someone, without a big fuss or drama about ‘look at me HELPING THE POOR’. Part of my work requires that I share the projects that we do, because our benefactors need to know what the volunteers are up to, and it helps people get involved. But it is a very simple and beautiful thing to love and serve without taking a photo to share on Facebook.

-The Gift of Music in the Slum- 

A couple of weeks ago, a friend’s brother texted me. He told me that his group of friends and their spouses and kids go carol singing every year to an orphanage. He asked me if there was any group of people that we volunteer with whom they could do it for this Christmas. These are all well-to-do professionals, who have every excuse to make their Christmas wholly about themselves- parties and gifts and good food. I’m sure their schedule could be filled up with decorating their own homes and buying their own families gifts. They don’t belong to any group that requires them to do any social service activity at Christmas. And yet they choose to make this a part of their lives and schedules. 

When I was a teenager I was part of the church youth group that went carol-singing to all the areas of the parish. But for us, it was mostly about having a good time, flirting with each other, and hoping the areas would provide good snacks. On the days when we visited the wealthier areas, all the youth would show up, but on the days we had to go to the poorer areas of the parish, the group would be a little scantier. Yeah, we were pretty shallow.

But this group of young families headed to the slum where our local parish has a tuition class, and made a fun evening for a bunch of kids who probably appreciated it far more than our little rich kids would. They brought their kids too! I once invited a teenager to help with a summer club we were doing in the slum and she told me her mother wouldn’t allow her to, because she thought it wasn’t safe. We can’t help people if we don’t go to where they are, and meet them there. And we can’t teach our kids to be different if we bubble wrap their existence so that they don’t even have to ever face other people’s sufferings and difficult lives.

-The Gift of a Family- 

A Salesian sister, a friend of my sister, came to visit two days ago. She was warm and kind and friendly, and chatted easily about her life. As she shared, she mentioned two young men, brothers, who were orphans and who she had met some years before. They were Protestant and had grown up in a Protestant orphanage. She said that she decided to befriend them. She took them home to her family, and over the years her family became their family. When they married, her family were the ones to buy the brides sarees and gifts as representatives of the young men’s families. She told us how much the young men loved them. The younger one told her, “You are an answer to my prayers for many years. I told God that everyone else has someone, except for me. I told Him, please send me someone to be MY family. It wasn’t a coincidence that we met, God sent you to me.”

Those of us come from warm, close-knit families often take it for granted. Or we feel bad for those who don’t have anyone. But how many of us are willing to open up that circle of love, and draw others into it? This Sister and her family did it. Now that Sister is posted in a different state, her family continues to love and welcome the young men who have become a part of their family.

There are probably many, many more stories like this. Not everyone is gossiping and slandering and criticizing and complaining. There are many, many souls who have opened themselves not just to the true 'spirit of Christmas', but the true GOD of Christmas- the God of love. Like Jesus, they give priceless gifts- gifts of love, mercy, kindness and acceptance. If He comes back today, I hope I may be counted among them.

Eight Tips to Surviving Christmas

You may be one of those crazy people who starts counting down to Christmas from October, who gets dreamy at the thought of Christmas gifts and traditions, hot chocolate and carols, Midnight mass and fluffy socks. But most likely once the season is upon you, that illusion comes crashing down. You suddenly have too much to do, too many commitments, nothing to wear, you’re tired, and everyone expects too much of you, and more and more corners of your house need cleaning. Your family members still push your buttons, and the more tired you are, the more you remember everything in your life that is going wrong, like the fact that you’re STILL single, or your marriageable children are, or your marriage is not picture-perfect, or you are childless or you just lost someone close to you… and it’s all too much to handle, and Christmas is not dreamy and charming, but frustrating and exhausting and can we go back to normal life already?

So is there any way to avoid this cycle of pain? Is there any way to redeem Christmas? Here are my best tips:

1. Make room for silence: Somehow or the other, prayer is relegated to the way way bottom of our to-do lists during Christmas. “Hold on, Lord, I know, I know, ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’ etc, but really it’s super-important that I spend another few hours online shopping for the perfect gift for everyone I know, I’m sure you understand.” 

Just put it all to one side, put your phone in another room, quiet your heart and your mind, and be with the One who loves you best. 

“The best time to make a holy hour is in the morning, early, before the day sets traps for us,” said Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Schedule it in, or it won’t happen. Personal prayer is important, and so is family prayer. I remember a Christmas Eve a few years ago when my family was in the middle of all the typical bustle of decorating, gift-wrapping, looking for matching clothes, shoes and jewelry for Midnight Mass, fighting over the one ironing board… and then we stopped everything, switched off all the lights and sat quietly before the crib, with its one light on, and prayed together. It was exactly right, but how easily we could have missed that moment.

2. Make room for love: Plan a visit to a poor family, or an elderly relative. Those are the kind of plans that won’t automatically happen unless you choose them. Christmas dances, family parties and big meals will happen one way or another, but the less glamorous appointments must be deliberately prioritized. But it’s not just the big gestures of love, but the little ones too. Plan each day to something encouraging or kind to each member of your family. Wash the dishes for your mum. Thank your maid. Tickle your kids. People over tasks.

3. Don’t over-commit: It’s easy during Christmas season to want to do it all. And there’s usually a LOT to do - parties, visits, home-decorating, errands, cooking feasts, an array of different types of sweets. But if you’re tired, it’s okay to say no. If you don’t have time to pray, it’s okay to say no.  if you’re over-stimulated, your room is a huge mess and you’re surviving on five hours of sleep every night, it’s okay to say no. It doesn’t really make a difference if you make three types of sweets instead of five. It’s okay if you skip a few social engagements to spend a quiet evening at home. make good choices. Don't spread yourself too thin.

4. Don’t over-eat, drink too much or spend too much: It’s embarrassing that Christians celebrate the birth of our God in the dwelling of a poor and humble family by reveling in the sin of gluttony and alcohol abuse and greed. Of course, celebration and feasting is good - Catholics love their feasts! But feasting is not equal to gluttony or drunkenness. Plus you know you feel bloated, unhealthy,  lethargic or hung over after overdoing it too many times. Why not enjoy the good things of life without letting them destroy us? Maybe you could give away the extra food, or the money saved by eating leftovers or buying less alcohol or other stuff, in the true spirit of Christmas.

5. Feed yourself with something satisfying: Read a good book. Read the bible. Listen to a good podcast. Do some art. Feed your soul and your mind, don’t just put them on hold while the body takes over. The bubble of this life is going to burst one day, and what will you have left on that day?

6. Play some beautiful music: Not just poppy Christmas-themed music, but music that calms you and feeds your soul, helps you remember who you are and who God is, that there is more to life than this frenzied pursuit of pleasure. Do your chores to the soundtrack of beauty.

7. Go for Confession: I have never failed to have my soul-cobwebs cleared out each time I have been to Confession. Yes, it’s hard, yes, I don’t feel like doing it and can think of any number of other things I would rather be doing, and yet I go – because it clears out the junk and once again I see myself and the world with the eyes of Truth… and hope. I went for Confession three days ago, and it was about time.

8. Fight the urge to compare: Envy creeps in at times like this, a dissatisfaction with the way things are, with the imperfect life we have been given. Nostalgia, an imperceptible sense of “If only…” pervades everything, and steals our joy. Reality doesn’t seem to satisfy. Wake up, friends - it’s a lie! No one has that perfect life. It awaits us in heaven, when every tear will be wiped away. Meanwhile, the imperfect, messy life you have been given holds beauty. But you might need to stop and look for it. And when you find it, give thanks!

I pray that each person reading this article finds joy this Christmas, that you may judge wisely the things of earth, and hold firm to the things of heaven, and that you may find your security in the gentle arms of our Lord who gave up heaven just to be ‘Emmanuel’.

7 Christmas Quick Takes (2015 version)

Last year I did a 7 Quick Takes on Christmas. So because I'm so creative and original, I decided to go with the exact same idea. I'm a creature of habit. Usually bad habits.

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So people keep asking me how my Christmas went. I try to think of something fascinating that happened, and of course, it is, "I decided to be an adult, and made the roast chicken for the first time in my life." My findings:

• If I had to pick one thing that I had to eat every day for the rest of my life, I THINK stuffing made with bacon, sausage, breadcrumbs, onion, raisins and apple might be it.
• Stitching together a dead bird might be the grossest thing anyone could do on a Christmas morning.
• Recipe books are great with the theory, but when you say it'll take an hour to roast, maybe you should mention that in REALITY it might take 2 hours plus some for the bird to actually be cooked through
• Cutting a whole roast chicken into edible portions is a messy and unsatisfying business for amateurs like myself.

However the delicious meal we eventually ate made everything worth it. (Also helping us practice our 'waiting in joyful hope')

---2---

An Indian Catholic's Christmas differs from an American Catholic's in one major way- we always have our Christmas sweets. Not just Christmas cookies, but a whole set of delicacies like marzipan (sugar and cashewnut), kulkuls (fried and frosted bits of dough), fudge, milk toffee, cheese straws, fruitcake, etc. I assume most of these are Goan Catholic traditions, mostly from the Portuguese? Or a little from here, a little from there? Anyway, it would be a strange, strange Christmas without these Christmas sweets.

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Even though an Indian Christmas has nothing to do with snowmen, pine trees, candy canes, etc, and none of those things have anything much to do with the biblical Nativity of Jesus (unlike the Christmas star and angels), all those things seem to be a normal part of our Christmases here. Kids in school do Christmas arts and crafts which reflect a Christmas from a different part of the world, we cheerily sing 'Let It Snow' and 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas', which almost none of us have ever seen.

And of course Santa Claus appears as the main face of Christmas. Sad but true: Humans of Bombay recorded a little street child selling Christmas decorations, saying, "Every year I ask Santa for only one thing - a way to get myself properly educated. This year I also realised that I want to be a scientist so I'm praying even harder that he makes my wish come true. They say Santa doesn't exist, but I have faith that one day I'll be able to stop working, study and become the best scientist in the world!"

Pray to Jesus, not Santa! (I know for atheists it doesn't make a difference, but as a Catholic, praying to a fictional character from the North Pole isn't exactly the same as praying to the historical person of Jesus who still heals and reveals Himself today. Unless he's really asking for the intercession of Saint Nicholas?)

Anyway, in spite of the randomness of some of our Christmas traditions, I sure enjoy having a Christmas tree and heaps of gifts under it.

Even if it's a fake tree.

---4---

Over the last week or so I have been listening to this song 'Wonder' on repeat. The words are very simple-

May we never lose our wonder / Wide eyed and mystified / May we be just like a child / Staring at the beauty of our King/ You are beautiful in all your ways

A couple of weeks ago in the US, I spent one of the most beautiful hours of my life, sitting in Adoration with a chapel full of people loving Jesus. We sang this song, over and over, and my heart was filled with wonder. And now at Christmas, it makes even more sense.

I think of how Mary must have gazed in wonder at this little creature, suckling at her breast.. The God of the Universe become tiny and weak and helpless, her Creator, and yet her little one. How her heart must have swelled with love, with awe, with tenderness. I catch little tastes of that wonder when I gaze at Jesus in the Eucharist- once again become so small, to be with me. The secret of everything- greatness hidden in littleness.

Bishop Robert Barron says, "How common this is in the Bible: the reversal of expectations, the little giving rise to the great, wonderful things coming where you least expect them. The stuttering Moses speaks up to mighty Pharaoh, the slaves face down the Egyptian army, tiny David kills the giant Goliath..."

In the quiet of my prayer time, in the heart-lifting moment of the Psalm being sung at Christmas Mass, in the the brief moment of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist and walking back to my pew, in the few minutes of prayer as my family gathered around my blind and bedridden great aunt, these were the God-moments of Christmas.

---5---

Some Christmas articles and blog posts-

Have Yourself a Broken Little Christmas

We celebrate a Savior who entered a wounded world. And every year we celebrate his birth, we see evidence that our world is still so broken, still so in need of the saving power of Jesus. Our Savior did not come as a king, although he could have saved us in any way he pleased. Rather, he came as a tiny, vulnerable child. He entered our broken, violent, hate-filled world as a tiny, trusting, child, to be with us. 

Oh, That Final Verse!

If you’re not getting everything you need in this world, if you don’t feel satisfied, if you feel adrift and alone and incomplete, that’s because we haven’t gotten to the end of the song yet. You haven't yet gotten to the final verse, which rescues all the others from fantasy. 

Christmas Isn't Candy Canes—It's D-Day in the War Against Satan

Jesus the King of the Universe entered the territory of the “prince of this world” and began to take back territory from him.  

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 (More at catholicmemes.com)

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And old Christmas stuff from me:


Are You Going to a Christmas Dance? 

7 Christmas Quick Takes 

Christmas Highlights

Christmas Highlights

It's been quite the month. You do want to hear about it, right? Well, you're probably low on attention because of sleep deprivation, so here's a mostly picture update about some of the awesome bits of the last few weeks...

1. These socks. A Christmas gift from awesome roommate R. They rarely left my feet  for most of the winter. (Let's hear a collective ewwww.) Quite the fashion statement, eh? Especially when I wore them outside the house paired with my rubber slippers.

2. The perfect gift for my four year old niece. How many of you have given a gift that was kissed, hugged, cuddled, talked to, named and not put down for a week after Christmas? I have! Introducing Sarah the Horsie. Godmother/auntie win!

3. This beautiful nativity set, brought all the way from the US, chosen with love by good friends. Interesting story- we had the most beautiful nativity set, but had no time to make a stable/crib scene. My newly married cousin B made a a beautiful setting for a nativity set- stable, inn, hills... and couldn't get an affordable nativity set. So she put a card in the place where Baby Jesus should have laid which said 'HIS home is where YOUR heart is.'

4. These manly (but blurry) men and the showcase they stand beside/have collapsed on:

My friend B not only donated the showcase, but took responsibility for transporting it to our house... and together with D and I, carried what turned out to be an EXTREMELY heave piece of furniture up and down flights of stairs. But now we have a place for our books (not a bookshelf, but close)... woohoo!

5. This spontaneous and very successful sweater drive, which I promise to write an entire blog post about because it was so cool.

6. A successful Christ-like Christmas celebration on the 25th night that was a little crazier than I expected it to be, but included a visit to our neighbouring migrant worker with biriyani and gulab jamuns, a very crowded and noisy house, old, old friends who turned up unexpectedly, and singing late into the night.

7. This article written by Matthew Archbold:

3 of the Most Wildly UnChristian Christmas Songs Ever

that I wish I had written because I have been mocking 'Feed the World/Do they Know It's Christmas' for years... it kinda begs mocking, notably this line:

Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How did this line make the cut? What a wonderful Christmas sentiment- let's reflect on those who suffer while you do not... and THANK GOD it's them, not you!

And then,

Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Because if it isn't snowing, if you don't live in the USA, and if you're poor, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT OR WHEN CHRISTMAS IS!!!! If they think AFRICA doesn't celebrate Christmas, I wonder what they think of Indian Christians. Probably never heard of 'em.

Okay, I'll stop.

8.  These books:

My sister gave me an awesome Christmas present that arrived early- a subscription to a library that delivers books to your doorstep. So after all the tension, tiredness and work of Christmas preparation was over, I came back from Midnight Mass, grabbed some freshly baked Christmas cookies, snuggled into my blankets and started reading the first Hunger Games. I really enjoyed it, and finished the last book a couple of days ago. I do have a lot of thoughts and opinions (blog post anyone?) but overall they was thought-provoking and very readable. The end was kinda a downer though... I expected it to end on a more unrealistic high note, I guess.

I did have to resist the urge to retreat to my bedroom in the middle of the noisy crowded party I was hosting to finish reading my book. But mature hostess trumped introverted bookworm. This time.

9. Christmas card from a blog reader (thank you, S!), and more expected in the mail, Christmas cards that I made and mailed, and probably arrived long after Christmas :-), a fruitful Christmas outreach at our church, a cousin's engagement, Baileys Irish Cream (which people only offer me at Christmas).

10. A wonderful New Year's Eve celebration with a small group of friends- we played my favourite game, Balderdash, ate some good pasta and quiche, shared our highs and lows of the past year over a glass of wine, and prayed for each other. What better way to start the year? (Apart from Midnight Mass, which I skipped because I'm tired of being out in the cold.)

It was a good Christmas. Now can I take a breath?

Are You Going to a Christmas Dance?

First of all, I would like to go on record to say that I have no objection to fun (the concept or the music group).

Nor do I think celebrations or parties are evil. (Except if by parties you mean drunken lust-saturated revelries.)

I do not believe that fun = going straight to the devil. I take leave to disagree with certain saints who were anti-dancing. (Guess what, saints’ opinions aren't infallible, which is good because otherwise the fact that different saints sometimes contradict each other would be a bigger deal than it is.)

I don’t even think alcohol is the devil's brew. (Which is a shocker for those who know I don’t drink any alcohol except Bailey’s, and probably assumed I have a moral objection to all alcohol.) But of course, moderation.

 GK Chesterton, awesome as always

As a Catholic, I believe there is place for both feasting and fasting. And Christmas is definitely the time for celebrations, feasting and joy.

But. But. But.

You knew there would be a but, didn't you?

In my city, Christmas is celebrated by many Catholics in pretty expected ways- there’s Midnight Mass (or Christmas Day Mass if you’re old and cold), there’s a family lunch celebration which usually includes sorpotel if you’re Goan, and roast chicken with stuffing if you’re my family... and then there’s the Christmas dance/ball/party in the night.

Christmas lunch with family (Don't even ask about the hats)

Christmas dances are quite often organized by the parishes, or the PGI (Poona Goan Institute) or private individuals. They involve DJs, loud music, drunk people, fancy clothes (quite often the shortest skirts, the lowest tops and the most non-existent backs, yay Indian Catholics), food, drink and dancing. Most people from my social world go to these parties, because they want to do SOMETHING on Christmas night, and that’s where all their friends will be.

So what’s my problem?

Quite simply, the fact that these are ‘rich people’ events. With the passes, the clothes, the shoes, the food and the alcohol, you may land up spending thousands of rupees. A lot of people I know are very well-to-do. They are earning well, so they are used to spending a lot. Eating out at restaurants very often, a lot of movies, every new model of their phone of choice as it comes out, nice cars, etc. They are also very generous.

The thing is, we’re called to give till it hurts, not give a little, but make sure I have enough for all my expensive habits and hobbies. To be trite, Christians are called to live simply, so others can simply live. We’re not called to give a lot. We’re called to give everything. As much as we can. The only eternal value our money has is when we use it for love of others.

 And no, I don't think buying Toms really counts

I've been reading most of the Advent readings from Mass and from the Liturgy of the Hours. One of the big themes of Advent seems to be ‘justice’. You probably know that we’re not just waiting for or commemorating the First Coming of Jesus, but the Second Coming too... you know when ‘He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.’

‘The Savior will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. He will address those who committed outrages against him... and will remind them: You did these things and I was silent. His first coming was to fulfil his plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his kingdom by necessity... ‘ Cyril of Jerusalem (313 – 386 AD) 

What outrages? ‘I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink’ (Matt 25: 42) ‘There was rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table.’ (Lk 16:19-20)

If Jesus’ Second Coming happened to be on December 25th, 2013, what would he find us doing or being? How would He expect His believers to be celebrating? How can I glorify God even in my celebrations, ESPECIALLY when I’m celebrating the birth of the King of Justice?

Picture this:

Rich people eating and drinking at parties that cost hundreds or thousands of rupees, while AT OUR GATE lie communities of people shivering in the cold, eating their meagre meals cooked over open fires on the street.

Migrant labourers living down the street from my parents' home

Does this look like justice to you?

Okay, I guess you can tell I’m pretty fired up about this. You might say, “Well, Sue, so what are YOU going to do about it?” Good question.

This year, I’m not going to an expensive party, but I am going to celebrate, both with my friends and with the poor. I’m planning to invite anyone who doesn't have the money, or doesn't feel comfortable spending a lot of money on the professional parties, to come over to my apartment for some singing, dancing, Bananagrams, Pictionary, Christmas charades, hot chocolate, and food. Each one could bring something to add to the dinner. But before we eat, we are going to buy some packed hot biriyani meals (with the money we would have spent on a party), and take it to the poor community living AT OUR GATE (yeah, I know I’m doing the caps thing again, it’s called emphasis).

I know that making choices like this sometimes comes across as judgmental to people who ARE going to those expensive parties. And I know that I’m not really in a position to judge, because I know exactly how selfish I am. I know people can have other reasons for going to parties like that- maybe they feel like it’s very important for them to be with their non-Christian friends who ARE planning to be at those parties. Or maybe they have been giving away a lot of their income to the poor, and living simply otherwise, so they are okay with splurging this one time.

But maybe they’ve never thought about this. Following Christ means more than paying him lip service, or showing up at Church or even having a personal prayer time. It means holding up our every decision and plan to the light of Truth and judging them based not on our world’s standards, but by His.

And sometimes that means making new Christmas plans.