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It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
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November 24, 2020It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Greetings Family;
We are entering the wonderful time of “The Holidays” where food, family, and friends become much more abundant . We plan, shop, clean, cook, invite, wrap, send, decorate, travel and..., but why? Mary Reed Newland in her book The Year and Our Children says, “Such a strange custom, celebrating Christmas and not knowing why.” Do you know why you do all the things you do during the Advent and Christmas seasons? Do you do those things out of tradition, popular culture, or deeply felt religious convictions? Let’s take a quiet moment to walk through this time and explore why we celebrate and how we can celebrate to make Advent and Christmas become more spiritually alive in our hearts and family.
Our new liturgical year begins on the first Sunday of Advent, this year on November 29, 2020. Advent is a time of waiting for the Messiah to be born. Jesus came to redeem us and open heaven for those who follow the teachings of Jesus and desire to be with Him in heaven for all eternity. So Advent is a time of exciting preparation, preparing ourselves, to be ready for when He comes.
Jesus is called the “Light of the World.” In this time of winter darkness we traditionally use an Advent wreath with 4 candles. Symbols are a language that children easily understand and the Advent wreath is filled with symbols. First, it is a circle, symbolizing the eternity of God; He has no beginning and no end. The circle can be decorated with evergreens symbolizing the everlasting life of Christ. The four candles stand for the four Sundays of Advent. They are colored: three purple and one rose. Purple is the liturgical color of Advent. One candle is lit on each Sunday of Advent, with the rose candle lit on the 3rd Sunday, Guadate (“Joyful”) Sunday. As the candles are lit, prayers and scripture should be read. One online suggestion is: www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers. And as Advent is ending, all 4 candles are lit and we have the “Light of the World” coming on Christmas!
A great craft project you can do with the young people in your life is to make a crib for baby Jesus out of a small container of any sort. As a prayer or good deed is done by the child for Jesus, they can put a piece of straw or yellow yarn in the crib. By the time Christmas Eve arrives, the crib will be filled (hopefully!) with a bed of soft straw in which to lay the baby Jesus when He is born.
And try to resist placing the Baby Jesus into your nativity scene before Christmas Day. Remember this is a time of waiting, anticipation! The same thing goes for the Three Kings, as they shouldn’t arrive until January 6th, Epiphany, the Feast of the Three Kings.
Gifts of course are a big part of the Christmas season and homemade gifts can be a special part of that. We like to bake cookies to give to family and friends. Do you have a special talent you could share with your family and friends?
Here are three books that we would recommend to you to help families live their faith all year long and provide wonderful ideas on just how to do that.
The Year and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland;
The Catholic All Year Compendium by Kendra Tierney
The Catholic Home by Meredith Gould. (No, she is no relation!)
(Grandparents note: One of these books would be a great gift for the parents of your grandkids!)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year blessings to you all!
Carlin and Deacon Dave
Advent and Christmas are almost here, so let’s start celebrating by baking some cookies together! Here is one of our favorites for Christmas:
RUSSIAN TEA CAKES 0r Mexican Wedding CakesT- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts, can be almonds or pecans too)
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar together until smooth.
3. Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
4. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together.
5. Stir in the chopped nuts.
6. Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough and shape into a ball. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, then place on the prepared cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the bottoms are just lightly brown.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, until you can handle them.
9. Add the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar to a small bowl and roll each cookie in it until well coated. The sugar will melt a little bit. Allow the cookies to cool completely, then re-roll in powdered sugar.
10. Store in an airtight container for up to a week, if they last that long. Makes about 40 cookies. Enjoy!
