Dennis will receive a copy of The Catholic Youth Prayer Book, Second Edition, a $15.95 value.

by Joanna Dailey

This is the juxtaposition of seasons: you go away for Thanksgiving weekend, and then when you arrive back home it’s Advent. And the big plastic Halloween pumpkin is still on the front porch!

But maybe that’s just me.

So let’s dig out the Advent wreath (maybe you did this Saturday night, as you should have) and begin again. If ever there was a reason to begin again, it is Advent. We are once again plunged into darkness. We are once again waiting for the light.

But how are we waiting? Everything depends on this question. Let us take our cue from Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other pregnant women. From what I understand, the waiting involved in waiting for a baby is both passive and active. Waiting is passive. Physically—and even mentally and emotionally—things are happening which are beyond the mother’s control. We now know that the health and well-being of an unborn child depend on the health and well-being of the mother. Her trauma, physical or emotional, affects the unborn child. Her music choices, loud or soothing, affect the unborn child. She is not only "eating for two" as the cliché has it, but feeling for two and even listening to music for two.

Waiting is also active. Mary, in the midst of her pregnancy, seemed well enough to make a visit to her cousin Elizabeth. What else might she have done in those days of waiting? She may not have outfitted a nursery, as today’s new moms do, but she must have made baby clothes and diapers. And Joseph’s carpentry skills must have come in handy for a cradle . . . once he got over the shock!

And now we are waiting too—to celebrate the birthday of the Child Jesus, yes. But we are also waiting for the Risen Christ to come at the end of time. And we are also waiting for that same Risen Christ to enter into our hearts in an even deeper way at Christmas. And our waiting, too, is both passive and active. Jesus is coming, and that is inevitable. There is nothing we can do to hurry it or to stop it. But there are things we can do to "wait in joyful hope" for Christmas and for the coming of Christ into our hearts:

1. Like Mary, visit somebody who needs a visit. Mary did not visit Elizabeth to help with the baby. Elizabeth’s baby had not yet arrived. She visited Elizabeth to visit Elizabeth—to rejoice with her, to encourage her, to stand with her in the solidarity of pregnant moms. This "somebody" may be a relative or neighbor, or even a friend you have wanted to keep in touch with but have not seen for awhile.
   
   If possible, arrange a visit with your students to people who need a visit: retirement centers, soup kitchens, or daycare centers. First collect old Christmas cards (or use free ones that charities send in the mail), cut off the greeting page, and paste the picture onto a piece of construction paper. Have the students write a new greeting on the back and ask them to sign their first name and the name of your school. Give these out as you end your visit.
   
   
2. Like Joseph, make something. Challenge your family to draw names with the promise that a made-by-hand Christmas present will be given to the family member whose name you drew. Younger children can make special Christmas drawings or paintings. Older children can make a photo book or scrapbook, or explore or perfect a skill or talent. Promise your availability for advice and help.
   
   You may want to challenge your students to a home-made Christmas gift exchange this year. Again, promise your help both in thinking up ideas and in encouragement in carrying them out! (An idea for a partly home-made gift can be found in Make It Happen in this newsletter.)
   
   You yourself may have a project that has been out of sight and out of mind for too long. Isn’t it time you finished that [fill-in-the-blank] you started a few years ago?
   
   "But it’s a busy time! I have things to do!" Yes, but one of the things Advent calls us to do is to nurture the child within. Which brings us to . . .
   
   
3. Nurture the child within. Take an hour to work on a project that you really love but have not made time for. Listen to favorite music while you are doing it. Make Christmas-card sending an event and not a chore by making a special place for it. (My father used to set up a card table in the living room as his Christmas card station.) Make time for the outdoors, even if it’s cold. A walk around the block can restore equilibrium and help you transition to the next segment of your day. And, like Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, set aside some time to spend with your Father.
   
   
4. Prioritize. Did Mary and Joseph get everything finished on time? Probably not. Then, they were called to Bethlehem at the worst possible time, leaving most of their well-laid plans in the dust behind them. All the more reason to put first things first. Mary had gotten in her visit to Elizabeth. And Joseph had invested whatever time and prayer it took for him to get his head on straight. Sit down with a December calendar and write in all your obligations and invitations. Be sure to include parish prayer services and similar events. Decide which are the important not-to-be-missed ones. Circle them. Then, when things get tight, and an event isn’t circled, send your regrets.

Advent is a new beginning. It is a very busy beginning, which makes it a challenge. But it is a happy challenge—to make time to visit, to find gifts, to make gifts, to send greetings of peace and love, to carry out family traditions, to remember and help those who are poor. Advent is a good way to begin a new year. Happy Advent!

Blessings on your ministry!

Peace and joy,

Joanna

A January Surprise is coming for readers of The Servant Leader! Details to follow in the December 15 issue!

Overview: This may seem like an activity for younger children, but I once made these for a Christmas party for a team of college-age peer ministers at Columbia University in New York City. When he saw them at each place, one of the peer ministers (and a star athlete) exclaimed in grateful wonder, "Stockings!"

Materials needed: Cardboard templates for a stocking to fit one-half of a piece of construction paper; one piece of sturdy red construction paper for each student; red or green curling ribbon; scissors; hole-punches; black marker pens. (Note: curling ribbon can be found online with better prices than can be found in stores.)

1. Ask each student to write his or her name on a piece of paper. Collect these in a basket. Circulate the basket, asking the students to draw a name. Ask them to keep the name a secret. Explain as follows:
   
   You will be making a paper stocking for someone in this class. The paper stocking you make will be given as a gift to the person whose name you drew. When it is finished, you will fill it with small gifts: perhaps a candy bar, a new ballpoint pen or a pencil, a small ornament, a little pin, etc. The size of the stocking will help you to keep your gifts small, because it is the thought that counts and not the dollar amount of the gift.
   
   
2. Distribute an 8 1/2 by 11-inch piece of red construction paper to each student.
   
   
3. Ask them to fold the papers in half, width-wise (not length-wise).
   
   
4. Provide access to templates, scissors, and hole-punches. The stocking template should fill the half-sheet of paper. It is best not to use the folded side of the paper as one side of the stocking. This makes the stocking too stiff and inhibits the "give" needed for filling with gifts. The stocking will be short rather than long.
   
   
5. Direct the students to trace around the stocking, then cut completely around the stocking. They will have two stockings. Instruct them to keep these pieces together as cut.
   
   
6. Instruct the students to hold the two pieces of the stocking together, and hole-punch around the sides of the stocking, but not the top. The holes should be about an inch apart.
   
   
7. Instruct the students to cut a piece of red or green ribbon about 3 times the length of the stocking. Direct them to make a large knot in one end of the ribbon. Then, they are to thread the ribbon through the holes, starting at the top of one side, over and under. After threading through the last hole, they will make a large knot.
   
   
8. Direct them to write the name of the person to receive the stocking in large letters on the stocking with a black marker pen. The names can be printed in primary-style, with dots placed at the "joints" and ends of the letters, to give an elfin look. The stockings can then be filled with gifts and exchanged on the last day of school before Christmas vacation. (You may want to collect them in a box on the day before and have them waiting on each desk when the class comes in on the last day.) Ask that each gift, however small, be wrapped and tied with ribbon. This gives a more festive look to the stocking.

Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2014
Mark 1:1-8

Opening Prayer

Jesus, through the grace of Baptism we were made a new creation. As we continue our journey of faith, renew our hearts and deepen our commitment to the Gospel so we can be your witnesses in our troubled world. Amen.

Context Connection

Last Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, initiated a new liturgical year. The readings that will be proclaimed at Mass throughout this liturgical year are taken from cycle B; the Gospel readings, with few exceptions, come from the Gospel of Mark. It is important for us to understand some of the background of Mark's Gospel. It is the earliest Gospel, written sometime between AD 65 and 70. It was written for a non-Jewish audience, which explains why so many Jewish terms are defined. The Christian church at this time was experiencing persecution under Emperor Nero. Its losses were mounting; both Peter and Paul had suffered martyrdom. The Gospel of Mark surely instilled hope in this weary church. Mark portrays Jesus as a messiah on the move, traveling widely while proclaiming that God's Kingdom is near. Because of Mark's phenomenal storytelling ability, we come to know a very human Jesus, who has strong emotions and a heart filled with compassion. From the beginning, we know that Jesus is the Son of God, but he keeps his divine identity hidden. Jesus' insistence on secrecy is known as the messianic secret. We shouldn't be surprised that Mark keeps the secret so well. He reveals himself to be far more interested in Jesus' humanity than in his divinity. Moreover, he tends to focus more on the death of Jesus than on his Resurrection. Mark's agenda was to help a suffering, persecuted church identify with a suffering Jesus, who opened his arms on the cross. The Gospel of Mark can be described as a Gospel in a hurry, a Gospel that helps the Christian community to keep in focus the whole of the Paschal Mystery, the death and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ. What would have been for Mark an overemphasis on the Resurrection simply does not occur in his Gospel. This Sunday's Gospel Reading comprises the first eight verses of the Gospel of Mark. The opening statement proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah, which Mark refers to as good news (gospel). In the second verse Mark connects the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Hebrew Scriptures by quoting from the prophet Isaiah. For Mark, Jesus was the fulfillment of the Hebrew messianic prophecies:

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths."
(1:2-3)

Three texts from the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1, and Isaiah 40:3, are referenced here. The voice in the wilderness is that of John the Baptist. The wilderness was a barren area east of Jerusalem that led to the Jordan River. On the banks of this river, John proclaimed "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (1:4). People from the surrounding areas who came and confessed their sins were baptized in these waters. In verse 6 Mark provides us a vivid description of John the Baptist, "Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey" (1:6). Why do you think Mark bothered to describe John's appearance in such detail? He did so to make a direct connection between Elijah and John. In 2 Kings 1:8 Elijah is described as a hairy man who wore a leather belt around his waist. In Zechariah 13:4 we learn that a "hairy mantle" is the sign of a prophet. We often encounter images from the Hebrew Bible in the New Testament, which helps to underscore the continuity between the two testaments, or collections.

What was John the Baptist's message? "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me" (1:7). John is pointing to Jesus as the Messiah; John, as the voice in the wilderness, is making the way ready for the Lord. Jesus, the one more powerful than John, will not baptize with water, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (1:8).

Tradition Connection
In both the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed we profess belief in the forgiveness of sins. In the Apostles' Creed we say, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, page 50), whereas in the Nicene Creed we say, "We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins" (page 50). As Catholics we connect the forgiveness of sins with the sacrament of Baptism.

Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved."¹ Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life"² (Catechism, paragraph 977).

Through Baptism all sin is forgiven, both Original Sin and personal sin. Unfortunately we do not remain in this state of holiness, because of our human inclination toward sin. The state of grace can be restored through the repeatable sacrament of Reconciliation.

When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor offenses committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them. . . . Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil³ (Catechism, paragraph 978).

Through the grace of Baptism sins are forgiven and we are made pure, and we go on to receive new birth in Christ through the Holy Spirit. We are made a new creation in Jesus. The renewal is ongoing and lifelong.

The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit⁴ (Catechism, paragraph 1262).

As this new creation in Christ, the baptized person becomes an adopted son or daughter of God and a co-heir with Christ in the Kingdom of God. It is through the sacrament of Baptism that we become a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature,"⁵ member of Christ and co-heir with him,⁶ and a temple of the Holy Spirit⁷ (Catechism, paragraph 1265).

Wisdom Connection
According to Mark's account, John the Baptist has the dual responsibility of preparing individuals to accept Jesus as the Messiah and continually pointing individuals toward him. John helps people to open their hearts to Jesus through preaching a baptism of repentance, which leads to the forgiveness of sins. We call this process conversion, and as Christians we understand the turning of one's heart to God as ongoing. Repentance occurs when a person is touched by God's Reign, yet God cannot reign in an unrepentant heart.

Each disciple is expected to open himself or herself to conversion and to grow stronger and deeper in faith. By participating in this conversion process, the disciple will be pointing others to Jesus the Christ. He or she will be imitating John the Baptist, the model of total witness who pointed others to Jesus the Christ. The author of Mark's Gospel offers John the Baptist as an example for all time.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes Cited in Quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Mark 16:15-16.
2. Romans 6:4; cf. 4:25.
3. Roman Catechism I, 11, 3.
4. Cf. Acts 2:38; John 3:5.
5. 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Peter 1:4; cf. Galatians 4:5-7.
6. Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:15; 12:27; Romans 8:17.
7. Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19.

Third Sunday of Advent
December 14, 2014
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Opening Prayer

Jesus, John the Baptist recognized you as the Messiah, the one sent by God to bring about the salvation of all people. And in proclaiming you the Promised One, he led many to you. Help us to see you in our daily lives and to bring our fellow sojourners into your warm embrace. Amen.

Context Connection
John opens his Gospel, this third Sunday of Advent, by telling us that Jesus is the Word. This living Word, which dwelt with God the Father since creation, came into the world to bring light to the darkness. We are introduced to John the Baptist, who was intimately acquainted with the light, who "came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him" (1:7). The Gospel writer goes on to emphasize that John the Baptist was not the Messiah but the herald of the Messiah: "He [John the Baptist] himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light" (1:8). As Christians we are called to imitate John the Baptist by pointing others to the light of Christ.

In verse 19, John the Baptist reveals his true identity as he responds to the religious elite of Jerusalem, who had sought him out. When they ask John, "Who are you?" (1:19). John answers, "I am not the Messiah" (1:20). His words suggest that some actually believed him to be the Messiah. Next they ask him, "Are you Elijah?" (1:21). John's physical appearance, particularly his attire, after all, resembled Elijah's. You may recall that the prophet Elijah lived during the period of the monarchy and was taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot (see 2 Kings 2:11). It was widely believed that Elijah would come again to anoint the Messiah. John says clearly that he is not Elijah. The elite have one more question, "Are you the prophet?" (1:21). In other words, they ask him whether he is Moses, the lawgiver, the greatest prophet Israel has ever known. John assures them that he is not Moses, who has returned to strengthen the Law. John finally gives them something that they can take back to their coreligionists in Jerusalem, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, / 'Make straight the way of the Lord'" (1:23). His visitors must have realized that he quoted Isaiah 40:3. They must have reported back that John was not the Messiah, nor the prophet Elijah, nor a new Moses. They probably saw him as another of those prophets speaking in the wilderness about redemption and judgment, but he was much more.

The mission of John the Baptist was to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah, whom he recognized as one far greater than himself, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal" (1:26-27).

Tradition Connection
Just as John the Baptist gave witness to Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, we are expected to give witness to the true identity of Jesus and the Gospel that he preached. This witness requires us to put Jesus' words into deeds by working for justice throughout the world.

The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.¹ All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation² (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2472).

The Old Testament teaches and Jesus confirms that God is indeed the source of all truth. Through Baptism we are given the gift of a loving relationship with God the Father. As God's son or daughter, we, in turn, are called to live lives that give witness to that loving relationship.

The Old Testament attests that God is the source of all truth. His Word is truth. His Law is truth. His "faithfulness endures to all generations."³ Since God is "true," the members of his people are called to live in the truth⁴ (Catechism, paragraph 2465).

As God the Son who took on human form, Jesus brought from God the Father the light of truth into a world overshadowed by darkness. He entrusted this light to his disciples. Baptism reminds us of the responsibilities of being light-bearers. In Baptism a person or a person's godparent is given a candle, which is lighted from the Easter candle, with the instruction to carry the light of Christ into the world, to witness to the light of truth found in Jesus Christ.

In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest. "Full of grace and truth," he came as the "light of the world," he is the Truth.⁵ "Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness."⁶ The disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to know "the truth [that] will make you free" and that sanctifies.⁷ To follow Jesus is to live in "the Spirit of truth," whom the Father sends in his name and who leads "into all the truth."⁸ To his disciples Jesus teaches the unconditional love of truth: "Let what you say be simply 'Yes or No'"⁹ (Catechism, paragraph 2466).

The Church makes available to us the record of those who gave witness to the truth of the Gospel. This collected record brings to life the faith journeys of the saints. These are sons and daughters of God who were able through their lives to give witness to the "Truth" and to point others to Jesus, who said "I am . . . the truth" (John 14:6).

Wisdom Connection
John the Baptist was called to be the voice crying out in the wilderness to make straight the path of Jesus the Messiah. The importance of his role in salvation history, of which the Gospel writer reminds us, cannot be stressed enough. As a prophet, a truth-sayer, John testified to the Light that is Jesus. "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (John 9:5), said our Lord. The fact that John could see this awesome light says much about his character. We are the Baptist's heirs. Each of us must be a voice crying out in the wildernesses of our world, in the places seemingly devoid of God. Each of us must make straight the paths that lead to the hearts of those around us. If we do our part, we make it easier for Jesus to touch and thereby change the lives of others.

The world still needs prophets like John the Baptist. Let's take a look around. Who are the prophets of today in our Church, in our world, in our family? During this season of Advent, let us pray for more prophets, let us pray that we live out the responsibilities of our Baptism by becoming prophets who not only speak the truth but actively listen to it as well.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes Cited in Quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Cf. Matthew 18:26.
2. Ad gentes, 11.
3. Psalm 119:90; cf. Proverbs 8:7; 2 Samuel 7:28; Psalm 119:142; Luke 1:50.
4. Romans 3:4; cf. Psalm 119:30.
5. John 1:14; 8:12; cf. 14:6.
6. John 12:46.
7. John 8:32; cf. 17:17.
8. John 16:13.
9. Matthew 5:37.

December 4: Saint Barbara. Saint Barbara was an early Christian martyr. Her name can be traced to the seventh century. Due to doubts about her history and legend, her name was removed from the General Roman Calendar of the Catholic Church in 1969, but she was not removed from the list of saints. She is the patron of those who work with fire and explosives. Several military ordnance companies in Britain, Canada, Norway, and the United States celebrate her feast day with special events.

December 6: Saint Nicholas, patron of children. Today he might also be seen as the patron of at-risk and victimized young people, because he saved three daughters from a life of prostitution by providing them with dowries. In Germany, Holland, and other countries, special cookies made in the image of Saint Nicholas (called Speculatius) are made for this day. Recipes can be found online.

December 8: The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the special patron of the United States of America. This is a holy day of obligation in the United States.

December 9: Saint Juan Diego, who asked the bishop to build a shrine for Our Lady. The bishop’s request for proof was met with a bouquet of roses Juan Diego gathered in December and a portrait of Our Lady, dressed in native garb, on Juan Diego’s cloak. This cloak has been preserved in the New Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

December 12: The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the special patron of Mexico and Latin America, and was declared "Patroness of the Americas" by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

December 13: Saint Lucy, patron of the blind. Saint Lucy’s Day—her name means "light"—is a special day in Scandinavian countries, where winter days are very dark. Children bring their parents breakfast in bed: a great treat for a cold winter morning!

Read more about these December saints at the Resource Center at Saint Mary’s Press.