American Theologian Fr Bevil Bramwell, spoke of the challenge of the busy-ness of Christmas. “We as humans are planners, but who gets most of our time?” He asked. He encouraged everyone to take notice of the surprises that come our way, and “attend to the spontaneity”.
Ask yourself: As you are living your day, who comes across your path? For example, how do you respond to a homeless person, or someone who gets angry towards you? Do you respond in kindness?
Advent is meant to be a time of penance before the celebration of the Christmas season. Do we as Catholics take note of how we are becoming more like Jesus as we live our daily lives?
“Be nice to others. If we don’t see any change day to day, there is something wrong. We should become better people every single day. We can deepen our spirituality.” Fr Bevil said.
Theologian Dr James Kruggel agreed that a practical step to take during the lead up to Christmas, is to “pick something you can work on to become more like Christ. Pray several times a day (it can be a set prayer like the rosary), and watch for the ways God speaks to you over the events of your day to grow in holiness.”
Fr Bevil suggested that praying the prayer of the church each night, helps to reveal what we need to work on.
Fr Bevil also encouraged the use of other resources to make this season fruitful. Like the Bishops Conference website, or Vatican website. He encouraged reading Pope Benedict XVI reflections on Advent.
“Appreciate how deep this occasion is.” Fr Bevil said, “Allow the events to be the glorious ones that they are. There is no short cut to grasping the glory that is bursting into the world as Jesus is.”