The New Advent

Well the tree is all decorated, the gifts all bought, well almost I have one more to get. My sister and I are planning on food shopping this week for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner, so it looks like my preparations for Christmas are almost done.

Sure it took me a few days to get the house and gifts in order, and yes I have a few more things to do for Christmas, but for the most part, I am done! Life is good, and everything is in order.

All this talk about preparing the way, make ready for the way of the lord, the Church makes it sound so hard. I don’t think so, sure I had to get up at 4am the day after Thanksgiving, and spend 18 hours shopping, but it’s the least I can do. I mean really, if Jesus can suffer on a cross, I can suffer in the mall.

Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas, the Church gives us 4 weeks, and it only took me 1. If you ask me the Church gives way to much time for preparations. Maybe back in the day we would have needed 4 weeks. With no cars or malls, all the shopping would have been more difficult. But in this modern day and age with cars, and the internet one can truly be all ready for the big day in one week, at the most.

Maybe we need to update this whole Advent session, maybe we should move it up so it’s just a week to 10 days before Christmas. Truly, if you think about it, having 4 weeks to prepare is a little overboard, if you think about it. People complain about the malls starting Christmas way to early, but the Church does the same thing. Four weeks to decorate shop and prepare for Christmas, come on.

Now if Christmas truly lasted 12 days, like the song suggest it does, then maybe, but it’s one day, and in truth its only an hour or so, then all the gifts have been open and everyone turns on the TV, and its life goes on as normal.

Maybe the Church needs to rethink this whole Advent thing, maybe turn it in to a one day event, a pre-Christmas holiday, Sort of a dry run. Or they could make it a bowl game, you know the Advent Bowl , have a big parade and you could have different Cardinals from all over the country be the announcers for it. Just think of all the millions of people they would reach. Think of the marketing, Advent Bowl shirts and hats, posters and the TV exposure. Who knows it could become the next Rose Bowl.

The Church needs to bring Advent in to the current century, it’s so out dated. 

They just don’t get it, or maybe it’s me….

Advent a time to prepare the way of the Lord, make ready, clear out your heart and prepair a room for the Lord!

Paul