Christmas is Near!

 “Advent is a period of preparation for Christmas but, unlike Lent, it is not a period of penance. It is a period that focuses us on joy….We come to realize more each year how…beautiful is a life lived in concert with the Jesus who came to show us the way. We learn the joy of anticipation, the joy of delighting in a sense of the presence of God all around us, the joy of looking for the second coming of Christ, the joy of living in the surety of even more life in the future.”

–Joan Chittister, The Liturgical Year, p. 66    Source: inwardoutward.org

 Perhaps waiting for Christmas is one way we never grow up.

 Maybe we’ve figured out who Santa is, but we still love to anticipate surprise gifts, right?

 Or maybe for you it’s the anticipation of a once-a-year family gathering, even if it does mean a little added drama for a few days.

 This last weekend of Advent waiting is precious because we know that if Christmas is near, Jesus is near.

 That’s an eternal truth, of course, but it’s good to have a reminder that joy is being born anew.

 Christmas is near! Hallelujah!