Pastoral Letter Advent 2008 |
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My dear people – greetings. Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner and today (tonight) we are celebrating the first weekend of Advent? In Australia, it will be a different Christmas this year with many families and individuals affected by the global financial crisis. I believe, the crisis we feel, should help us all to remember how fragile material possessions are, and that our focus should be on people. Jesus was all about people and His dream was to make us all the “People of God”, trusting ourselves to God’s providence and accepting God’s will as it unfolds in our life. So, I invite you this Advent to examine firstly your attitude to God’s place in your life. Are you - am I, obedient to the will of God? Obedience is not a popular word and yet, it is an expression of love and respect that children have for their parents. God is mother and father to each of us and obedience to God’s will is both an expression of our humility and a guarantee of our security. Secondly, what is our attitude to the people in our lives – family, friends, fellow parishioners and neighbours? Are we caught up in a popular attitude that is called “me first in everything”, or are we mindful of God’s invitation “to love others as we love ourselves”. In inviting you to focus your Advent and Christmas on other people and their need for your love, I also ask you to reflect on God’s personal love for you. We can do this by ensuring we have time for prayer in our day, quiet time when with, or without words, we rest in the presence of God who loves us beyond our wildest dreams. Reading Scripture, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, joining in ecumenical Christmas Carol celebrations are all ways we can prepare well to welcome again into our lives Emmanuel, the God who is with us. May God grace you with His peace this Advent and may you enjoy His presence.
+ Brian Heenan |