Advent!

A hearty "happy Advent!" to you. I hope it's treating you well so far... I have an excellent video I want to share with this blog. It's 2-3 minutes long and is a video called Advent Conspiracy which overviews a movement of churches and individuals trying to make a difference this Christmas for those less fortunate AND gives a great perspective on gift-giving - a must see before YOUR shopping spree :)

The Advent Conspiracy Promo Video from Vimeo.

Can't play the above video? Watch it on GodTube.

Well, what did you think of the video? I think the idea is great... to "give Presence" this Christmas. Please share your thoughts on the comments below :)

-snip-

Finally, a word from Pope Benedict on Advent that connects to the above video (he gave this address yesterday in Rome):

Brothers and sisters, it is the time of Advent. In the language of the Church the word Advent has two meanings: presence and expectation.

Presence: The light is present, Christ is the new Adam, he is with us and in our midst. The light already shines and we must open the eyes of the heart to see the light and to enter the river of light. Above all to be grateful for the fact that God himself has entered history as new source of goodness.

But Advent also means expectation: The dark night of evil is still strong. And that is why we pray in Advent with the ancient people of God: "Rorate caeli desuper." And we pray with insistence: Come Jesus; come, give force to light and goodness; come where falsehood, ignorance of God, violence and injustice dominate; come, Lord Jesus, give force to the good of the world and help us to be bearers of your light, agents of peace, witnesses of truth. Come Lord Jesus!

How will you carry His Presence into your environments this advent and Christmas?

The Reason for the Season!

ChristLife's most recent podcast has some excellent content especially in regards to this Christmas season. Jean, a friend of ChristLife, shares a powerful conversion story, and there is some great Christmas gift ideas from a group called Advent Conspiracy. Advent Conspiracy's goal is to transform the consumerism of Christmas into the message of compassion laid out by Jesus Christ!
This podcast is very inspiring and you can listen in here, or click play below to listen.

Join the Advent Conspiracy

A pretty neat movement of Christians called Advent Conspiracy [AC] has launched a campaign to restore the true message of Christmas. From their Web site, we read in stirring simplicity "Christmas was meant to change the world. Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion, not consumption."

Checkout out the following video. It is excellent! The whole point is to spend less this Christmas so we can give more to others relationally and to the poor. On their Web site they also have a list of relational gift ideas that may be helpful in considering gift-giving this Christmas.

Beyond this I really like how the dude on the video shares his faith in a simple and down-to-earth (kinda like the incarnation) way :)

The Light of the World!

"The People who have walked in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (Isaiah 9:2)

During this advent season I have been meditating on the anticipation of Jesus becoming man! He came in such a humble way, and because of that He brought such hope to the poor and suffering. It is hard to imagine life without the hope and peace that He brings, and yet many people don't know or care to know Him!

On ChristLife's most recent podcast, random college students answer the fundamental questions - who is Jesus to them and does God have an impact on their daily decisions? It was interesting to see what their veiws were, and how so many of them considered Jesus to be a good man but just not the savior of the world.



Also on the podcast are some testimonies of some students from the same campus who went through Discovering Christ and how the Lord radically impacted their lives. It is so encouraging to see the Lord at work. Hopefully during this advent and Christmas season, Christians will share the light of Christ with all those they meet!

You can listen to the most recent podcast here, or press play below:

Do you give up so easily on Jesus?

An incredible story from Iraq from the Catholic News Agency via Sherry W. at the Intentional Disciples blog.

"As Fr. Bautista continued speaking with us, he described the fascinating story of a young Muslim woman who was entering the Church under his guidance through the RCIA process. Her story was moving. While working with Americans, this woman, who must remain anonymous, was touched deeply when she realized that the U.S. medical personnel not only treated wounded Americans and Iraqi civilians, but also treated wounded enemy combatants, including one who was known for having killed U.S. Marines. As she put it, “This cannot happen with us.”

This dramatic extension of mercy even to enemy soldiers caused her to take the next cautious step. She asked Father Bautista to “tell me more about Jesus.” As Father described Jesus and his life in the Gospels, one thing stood out among the rest for the Muslim woman he called “Fatima” (not her real name) and that was how kindly Jesus had related to, as she put it, “the two Mary’s.” Fatima was moved to see how Jesus deeply loved Mary, his mother, who was sinless, but also how Jesus deeply loved Mary Magdalene, who was “a great sinner.” As these discussions continued, Fatima reached a point where she said to Father Bautista, “I want to become a Christian.”

Since Father Bautista sees himself as a chaplain for all troops, not just Catholics, he decided to introduce Fatima to other chaplains from Protestant and Orthodox backgrounds. After some time had passed, Fatima returned to Father Bautista and said, “I want to become a Catholic like you.” When Father asked her the reason for her decision, she said, “You were the only one who told me about the other Christians, so you left me free to decide for myself. That’s how I knew this was the right decision.”

As their catechetical lessons developed over time, Fatima’s family discovered her plan and was warned sternly by her father that if she continued on this path, she would be disowned by the entire family and would never have contact with them again. At this point, Father Bautista became concerned for Fatima’s well-being and cautioned her to look carefully at the consequences of her decision and to think seriously before continuing her path into the Church.

Fatima paused for a moment and then looking intently at Father Bautista asked, “Do you give up so easily on Jesus?” The question took Father aback for a moment, but then he thought, “This is incredible; this Muslim woman is already bearing witness to me about how important my own faith is!”

As he related it, this woman’s question had caused him to give greater thanks for his faith and for the great privilege of sharing Christ with others. Fatima is currently continuing the RCIA process with great courage and joy."

Amazing! Please pray for "Fatima" and all who journey toward Christ this Advent!

Be not afraid... A Savior is born, Christ the Lord!

We are about to enter the season of Advent this Sunday. The time of potential, prayerful and active preparation for the first and second comings of the Lord Jesus!

We are told by St. Luke that an angel of the Lord declared to shepherds, who had the night shift, "good news of great joy "(see Luke 2:1-20). These men who were minding their business out in a field, were quite freaked out by directly encountering the glorious presence of God, can you imagine, wouldn't you be? The angel reassured them and told them why he was there, to announce what God was doing right there in Bethlehem. Further the angel told them, they would find this good news in a cave, in a manger, and that the good news was a new born baby, who was Messiah and Lord! Many of the heavenly host who apparently were listening in, couldn't contain themselves any longer, and burst upon the shepherds praising God for his great glory and for initiating his long awaited saving mission of all creation in ultimate humility becoming a human child.

The shepherds ran to "Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened!" They stooped to enter the cave. Stooping is no problem for shepherds who are use to living a lowly and out of the lime light type of lifestyle. But for some of us, the idea of humbling ourselves to stoop down to see this good news..? Well, it just doesn't seem right or in keeping with our views of greatness, what we see 24/7 on the tube or perhaps aspire to for our own way of living! MTV's show, Cribs will not be carrying this crib, for sure! This is not the type of 'crib' the messiah should be born in or that I should be found hanging around. Well it was.

Humbling ourselves to see Jesus is something worth praying for during this season. Drawing close to the Word who created all things, and has now become human and gladly humbled himself to be born in manger for me and you. Who was seen by the lowly and poor, who gladly bowed down to see this sight. Lowering ourselves in gratitude, praise and worship of Emmanuel, the Messiah and Savior, Jesus, the Son of the Most High. Take the opportunity to carve out specific time on your calendar, in this busy season, to prayerfully read the infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke. Place yourself in the fields with the shepherds and in the cave before the Son of God, pondering with his mother what all of this means for me.

One other observation, the Shepherds having seen this miracle of God become man, "made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child;and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them." (Luke 2:17-18) They could not keep it to themselves, they personally encountered God's work of salvation and told others the good news they had heard and seen.

Advent and Christmas is a grace laden season, where many people who are broken hearted, lost and confused approach the 'holidays' with apprehension. Many are brought to a place where they can stoop to see this thing that God has done, if only some messenger of the Lord would tell them the good news. Be open and praying for opportunities to make known what was told to you! This Good news of God's love becoming a man, Jesus, born to save each one of us, and how he loves you!

During this Advent, let's give glory to God, like the angels and shepherds and, make known his love to those around us in words and witness of his love.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:20)