Second Week of Advent: The Immaculate Conception

One of the most confusing Catholic beliefs, I think, is that of today’s solemnity.

The Immaculate Conception doesn’t refer to Jesus—it refers to Mary. It means that Mary was conceived without original sin in the womb of her mother, St. Ann, as a singular grace. It doesn’t mean she’s a goddess. It means she was special prepared to be the mother of God. In Mother Mary Francis’ words, Mary was “pre-cleaned.”

(For more on the Church’s Marian doctrine, check out this Catholic 101 post I wrote.)

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“She did not have that downward pull that we have, but she still had choices, and she could have wrong ones or right ones. She could have insisted after the finding in the temple that Jesus explain what he meant. She could have said, ‘I am your Mother, and I have got to get this straight. I don’t understand what you are talking about.’ But she preferred, she chose, to accept what was to her not understandable, and to return to her humble home and to go about her duties and to ponder these things in her heart…She chose the will of God and she chose is freely—again, we say, unencumbered by the downward pull of concupiscence that we know so well, but still a woman quite capable of doing right or wrong, or doing good or better or best.

“It is very important that we do not allow our Lady to be distanced from us by her Immaculate Conception, but to be brought closer to us. She is the one to teach us poor sinners because she is called the Refuge of Sinners. Our Lord did not give her to St. John and say, ‘Now I am giving her to you, and she is the Mother of all the flawlessly holy ones.’ But he gave her to be the Mother of all persons, of all men and he knew what was in them, what is in each one of us, our weaknesses as well as our strengths.”

—Mother Mary Francis, PCC, Come Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting

First Week of Advent: Light

The readings for last Sunday hit me with their mention, over and over, of light—walking in the light, putting on the armor of light. Connected to that, we have the gospel, where Jesus talks about staying awake, because we don’t know when He will come.

In her book, Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting,* Mother Mary Francis, PCC, talks about our works of light and works of darkness. What are our individual works of light? Where are our works of darkness? What do we hide? What don’t we want people to see? How attached are we to these “works of darkness”? Mother Mary Francis uses the image of our works of darkness tucked around us like a shawl—and I think that’s a vibrant image. We can see a woman wrapped in a shawl, tugging it around her even more tightly to keep out the cold—but in this case, it can be keeping out the light of grace.

Can we try this Advent to walk in the light of the Lord, to make crooked ways straight, and to put off our works of darkness, as St. Paul talks about?

What do we need to do to be ready for the Lord’s coming? Where does light need to shine? What can be straightened out—or started to be straightened out, during this season of waiting?

Don't Forget About Advent

Botticelli, “The Annunciation”

Lately there’s been a whole cascade of encounters that have made me think that we need to talk more about Advent.

People saying Christmas ends on the 26th; people being burnt out on Christmas by Christmas Day; and housekeeping plans that tell you to take the tree and decorations down starting the 26th so you can have a “clean house” by January First are all a part of this.

We have forgotten about Advent.

Now, I’m guilty of wanting to play Christmas music in December. :) (This is because there is SO MUCH GOODNESS of it that it takes months to listen to fully!) I put my tree up after Thanksgiving. It’s true. My grandparents put their tree up on Christmas Eve. So I realize that it may not seem like I’m big into Advent.

But I love Advent. I love keeping the baby Jesus out of the crib until Christmas Eve. I love the readings of Advent, and the music of Advent. I love the delicious waiting, as Mother Mary Francis says. * (Link goes to my all time favorite Advent book!)

We need to re-adjust. We can decorate slowly. We can save the parties for the actual Christmas season, which begins Christmas Day and goes for at least twelve days! In the old church calendar, Christmas was a forty day season that ended on Candlemas! (February 2) Yes, you can keep your nativity up that long (and your tree if you’re like me and have a fake one that won’t catch fire!)

Are there things we can do during advent to prepare for Christmas? Of course. We celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. We light the candles on the Advent wreath. We leave shoes out for St. Nicholas. St. Lucy’s Day is a great day to celebrate the coming of the Light of the World and to make St. Lucia Buns!

But the solemnity, the season, of Christmas begins December 25. It’s not over December 26. It’s a season. It’s a big old period for joy.

And likewise, Advent is a season—in preparing for that joy. For making our houses “fair as you are able” (People Look East)

Leila has a wonderful post about this, and it’s a great idea to incorporate some of these into your Christmas. I’ve tried to do this as well—I love the cocoa party idea, for example. Even if you’re single like I am, you can still celebrate the 12 days! I used to love taking time off after Christmas not just for our family reunion but for unwinding around the house and reading all my Christmas books!

If you’d like to celebrate Advent this year, just a note: Advent doesn’t start December 1 and go through the 24th. (I see this a lot.) It properly starts four Sundays before Christmas—this year it starts November 27. It’s movable, just like Lent’s start date is movable. So the first Sunday of Advent is November 27, the second is December 4, the third is December 11, and the fourth is December 18. Yes, we have the longest Advent possible this year, because it’s four full weeks! Sometimes the “fourth week” is really just a few hours, since the fourth Sunday of Advent can also be Christmas Eve.

If you need candles for your wreath, you can check here and here.

Living the season liturgically gives us time to prepare, and time to enjoy. It’s not all crammed together in a stress ball of madness!

BONUS: Here’s my favorite version of Veni, Veni (O Come, O Come Emmanuel):

A Thrill of Hope

I’m featured over at Spoken Women, writing about today’s second reading from St. Paul!

Excerpt:

This Sunday, with almost two weeks left before Christmas, St. Paul tells us to “rejoice always!”

Do you feel like you rejoice always? Or rejoice at all? Do you have joy in your daily life? 

I’m going to make a confession here: I am a very naturally happy, nay, joyfulperson. In fact, when I was a contestant on Jeopardy!, a Twitter user wondered if I was trying to imitate Carol Channing with my enthusiasm. (If you don’t get that reference, google Carol Channing. You’ll get it.) 

I wasn’t. I’m just a naturally joyful person. So when St. Paul says to “rejoice always”, I can say I do that often enough. Not always, though, because, let’s be honest: It’s hard to rejoice always. 

Read the rest there.

Margin

Are you a person who needs permission to relax?

I am one of those people. Not to relax, per se, but to build in margin? To give yourself a break? That’s a problem I’ve always had. In some ways it’s good, because I can be counted on—I once did a performance of The Importance of Being Earnest in the midst of atrial fibrillation, because there wasn’t an understudy. I finished the show, went home, changed, and then went to the ER to get it fixed. (Seriously)

Sometimes it’s good that I don’t want to let people down. Other times, it’s not good.

But I think it’s especially important now, when everything is so busy, to remember that it’s OK to give ourselves margin.

For example: Before I had sinus surgery, I told the lector coordinator that I’d need two weeks off. I didn’t think I actually would be sick for two weeks but I thought, eh, you never know.

It turns out that yeah, I have needed that margin. This morning I thought I wasn’t going to make it to Mass. I didn’t fall asleep until almost 4 AM. But as the day went on (and as I’m writing this), I felt better. So I decided, yes, I could go. I had enough margin. I love Advent, so I knew it would feel good to go to Mass and I could wear one of my new dresses!

Said dress! :)

But, if I hadn’t felt good, then it would’ve been OK to miss Mass.

As I look back on my life, I see that there are times when I probably should have had margin, and didn’t. Like the high school semester that I had TB? I only missed four days of school, and two of those were for testing at the hospital. I should’ve missed a lot more. I was falling asleep in my Earth Science class! There was one day when my mom woke me up, and I was so tired I was crying. That day, I didn’t go to school; I just slept all day. We probably should have done that more. I should’ve said “I need this” more. But I didn’t.

The summer after I almost died? (TWENTY YEARS AGO, now!). I got a summer job. Probably shouldn’t have done that.

Post-transplant I knew that margin had to come into my life in a big way. I couldn’t push myself like I had before. I really did have to listen to my body. And I’ve done a better job of that, over the past 16 1/2 years. But it’s an ongoing process. I need to learn to cut myself some slack, because I can be hard on myself, and I’m guessing you can too.

It really is OK to step back. The world will not end if you take time off. It really, really won’t.

My tree isn’t decorated yet. My nativity isn’t up yet. Normally, both those things would be done. But they’re not. And I’m not pushing myself to do it, either. I’m letting myself feel out each day and see what’s happening in my body. I’m feeling, right now, like the nativity will happen tomorrow. But I don’t know for sure and that’s OK.

It is OK to need margin and space. It is OK to rest.

If you need permission, you have my permission.

REST. Give yourself slack. Create margin. It’s OK.

Advent, St. Andrew, and Surgery

I feel like there’s so much to write about and I just haven’t had time to do it!

So, happy Advent! Happy New Church Year! Happy Feast of St. Andrew (on the 30th!)

Here’s a post I wrote on Advent and the Liturgical Year

Advent reading: “At the Service of His Plan”

Also, the St. Andrew Christmas Novena starts on November 30. This is one of my favorite “new” traditions—I picked it up about 6 years ago, and I love it.

Anddddd also I’m having surgery on W, Dec. 1 to finally get my sinuses cleared out! WHEEEE!!!!

Seven Quick Takes: Advent, History, Radio Show, and the Only Movie You Need!

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Heigh ho, heigh ho! Welcome back to Seven Quick Takes.

We’ll start this week with….Patty. :) Per usual!

She has recently really gotten into baby dolls (these are all her sister Bridget’s) and I love watching her play little mama with them.

Also, Patty turns 16 months old tomorrow! Here’s a flashback photo from a year ago.

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Advent is coming! Advent is coming!

May I suggest that, if you are looking for an Advent devotional, that you take a look at Take Up & Read’s? It’s called The Holy Way and a lot of love and careful attention went into this book! We’d love to have you spend Advent with us. You can order your copy now.

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I’m going to be on Al Kresta’s radio show on Tuesday to talk about my book and All Souls’ Day! I will post the link when it’s up, but if you have Catholic radio in your area, check to see if Al’s show is aired where you are!

-IV-

Continuing down the list, history!

Well not really history, civics.

Basically these days I use my Political Science degree to teach people civics on the internet. :-p

Today’s lesson is: how a bill becomes a law in the US Congress.

It’s introduced in either the House or the Senate. The house it’s introduced in has to pass it. After they pass it, it goes to the other house. If it’s not passed, it’s dead. If it is passed, the president can sign it or veto it. If he vetoes it, then Congress can try to override the veto. If they don’t override it, bill’s dead. Can be introduced next session.

Veto override requires a two-thirds majority of members present.

To just pass something, you need a majority. That’s it.

There’s a lot of talk about how “well you really need 60 in the senate these days.”

That is, to put not too fine a point on it, crap. Yes, the U.S.. Senate has the filibuster. Yes, it requires 60 votes to stop a filibuster. But that’s not to pass legislation.

Capisce? Do we get it? Please don’t say you need 60 votes to pass a bill in the Senate, because you don’t.

-V-

So, my dad and I, after many sojourns in ERs where we have to entertain ourselves, came up with the list of Essential Movies that Explain Life. What that means is, we draw on them heavily in regular life because they capture some truth or bon mot that applies to multiple situations.

They are:

1) The Wizard of Oz : “Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking!” "Well, being a Good Christian Woman I can’t say it!” “What a world, what a world!”

2) The 1995 Pride and Prejudice. The only version. If you know, you know. “You do not make allowances for differences of situation and temper.” “The more I see of the world, the more I am dissatisfied with it.” “You have delighted us long enough.” “What do we live for, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?”

3) Mr. Mom. “I can’t believe it!” “I can’t believe it!” “You’re doing it wrong!” “No, lie to him. He likes it.” “Whatever it takes.” "

4) A Christmas Story: “It could be anything!” “Don’t you feel terrible? Don’t you feel remorse for what you have done?” “

Now, I’d add two other things to this—Christmas Vacation has gotten a lot of us during the pandemic, because “Whatever Russ, whatever.” And also Home Alone gives us this great gem:

via GIPHY

-VI-

Is there anywhere else int he world that does not trick or treat on Halloween? Or is this a uniquely central Ohio/Ohio thing? I as talking to Patty’s mom the other day and she said that she couldn’t believe we had trick or treat not on Halloween. I never really thought about it because that’s just how we do it here, but yes, it’s….weird.

-VII-

And I have begun writing out my Christmas cards. Yes, I begin Christmas prep early!

Walk the Holy Way with us this Advent

(All photos by Micaela Darr)

As crazy as it seems, Advent is almost here. It’s time to begin a new Church year! It’s time to wait in holy expectation for a baby to be born!

I always look forward to new Take Up And Read devotions, and The Holy Way is no exception. I’ve been so privileged to work with Elizabeth Foss and Micaela Darr on this one in the editing department to create The Holy Way for Advent 2021.

The readings are based on the daily Mass readings. Elizabeth has written beautiful, heartfelt essays for every day, as well as including journaling pages so you can write your own prayers and notes as you walk the Holy Way with us. One idea that repeats, over and over, in the daily Mass readings is the idea of a holy road—a highway for God; mountains that will be made low, and crooked ways that will be made straight.

We can do this in our own lives this Advent, by preparing our hearts, leveling the mountains of pride and discouragement, and making our lives a smooth pathway that will take us to the Babe in the manger.

Every one of these books is thoughtfully composed and curated just for our readers. Readers have asked for a book that mirrors the daily Mass readings, and here she is! The Holy Way is a meditative, prayerful, encouraging guide to this beautiful season of preparation and hope. It’s a daily respite to encourage you to put down roots in this holy season and let God speak to you.

You can get your copy here. I hope you will join us in walking the Holy Way.