Music Monday--Advent--In the Bleak Midwinter

Today's Advent Carol is actually more for Christmas, but its melody so poignant and with its lyrics that speak of the bleak midwinter, I like to sing it during the final week of Advent, when all hope seems lost.

Jesus will come.  He is faithful. The Light will manifest.

Note:  I chose this before Friday's tragedy in CT, but today it seems appropriate.
 

The Paradox of Advent

I'm thinking there is a spiritual purpose to what I call the paradox of Advent.

Little Lent
Advent is a time in the Church where the priest and the altar wear purple--just like Lent.  It is a time when we do not sing the Gloria--just like Lent.  It is a sort of mini-penitential season with many parishes having Advent Penance services.  Our parish actually decorates the area in front of the altar in a Lenten desert motif, with cactus and similar things.  It does not put out any part of the creche until Christmas proper. 

There are years where I personally welcome such austerity.  It reminds me of the simple, impoverished circumstances into which our Savior chose to be born.  My Advent wreath at home was made by my husband.  Its base consists of a large, rectangular piece of wood that was part of his father's barn.  He drilled 4 holes into it with his grandfather's antique hand drill  Each year, the purple and pink candles are placed in it.

Some years, I leave it that way--a bare Advent "wreath" with just the candles--to remind me of the Christ Child in the animals' feeding trough.  Sometimes, I decorate it little by little as Advent progresses, putting greenery among the candles during the third week of Advent to symbolize the hope of Gaudete Sunday.

Don't Give up Hope
Other years, I give into the need for hope right away and festively decorate the wooden base with purple Christmas-themed baubles and greenery.

Every year, I put out all my manger scenes for the whole of Advent.  Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and wise men travel and wait for the Christ Child to be born.  This admittedly adds to the Christmas-type atmosphere and keeps the hope strong.  On Christmas Eve, I put out all my baby Jesus', all around the house. 

Modern Confusion
Our modern society adds to this paradoxical atmosphere of Christmas, whose secular season begins on Thanksgiving or before and abruptly ends on December 26th, with all Christmas music falling silent and decorations disappearing, while the Church continues to celebrate.  Religious people are often conflicted by the question of whether or not to include Santa in their children's celebrations and both Christians and non-Christians feel the commercial pressure to celebrate Christmas in a way that feels uncomfortable for them.

Christmas has been celebrated for centuries now, with a wide variety of traditions taking place within parishes all over the world that speak to the diversity of human need for a introspection and for hope. 

Advent as a Subversive Act

I was quite intrigued, in this time of increasing pressure to keep one's Christianity "in the closet" so to speak, when I read an excerpt from Fr. Ron Rolheiser's article, Advent Preparing for the Sublime via the blog Blue Eyed Ennis.  

Lighting a candle in hope is not just a pious, religious act, it's a political act, a subversive one, and a prophetic one, as dangerous as brandishing a firearm.
To light an advent candle is to say, in the face of all that suggests the contrary, that God is still alive, still Lord of this world, and, because of that, "all will be well, and all will be well, and every manner of being will be well," irrespective of the evening news."

Advent practices, like wearing a crucifix, praying before meals or crossing one's self, is a subversive act in a culture that would have us stripped of all our religiosity in the public square.  Inherent in lighting an Advent candle, though, is the preposterous idea that there is a God who is the uncreated embodiment of Love and whose Light we can and should strive to show to our fellow human beings who share this planet with us.

To give in to the Atheistic world view that all religion is inherently evil in its base philosophy is to pay attention only to the admittedly evil people who have inhabited our world throughout history and ignore the teachings themselves.

Christianity teaches that Christ is the Light of the world and that our job as Christians is to spread that Light to others.  When we fail, as we do many times a day, and often horrifically, we are to repent--turn around and go in the opposite direction--lean on God's Love and continue to strive.

Music Monday--Advent--People Look East

This is such a nice Advent Carol that I like to include, usually near the end of Advent. It talks about the anticipatory joy of Advent.  (Also, I love the idea of the Church as a whole "looking East" to the Orthodox Church to "breathe with both lungs.)

Advent Resources

What will you be doing to prepare for Christmas this year?

During Advent, I will be reading Advent and Christmas Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton, which I bought from my local Catholic bookstore.  I had found Chesterton a bit hard to digest in large doses, but thought this book looked quite understandable and inspiring.

There are other Advent and Christmas Wisdom books out there that are sure to inspire you during this Advent season.

The Rosary is also a perfect spiritual practice for Advent--especially the Joyful Mysteries.  I am currently reading Fr. Dwight Longenecker's Book Praying the Rosary for Inner Healing, which takes us on a journey through the different times and issues in our own lives while we pray the rosary for healing.

The most complete Advent resource I've seen is Ignatian Spirituality's Advent Resource page.  They've got lots of links to articles, podcasts and an Advent calendar.

Pinterest has lots of wonderful DIY ideas for Advent-related items.  Stop by and get those creative ideas flowing! (One that caught my eye was an avante guarde Advent wreath made with a vine, candles, and old silver pieces.)

Saint Louis University has very well thought out resources for each Sunday based on the readings for Sunday Mass.  I think it is important to ferret out such resources, especially when the quality of homilies varies so much from parish to parish and often, priests do not focus on the practical application of the lessons from Scripture to everyday life.  Stop by their website during Advent and feast on the wisdom of God's word.  (Click on the arrow to the right of the drop-down menu to select the particular Sunday in question.)

Spending extra time in prayer and lectio divina is a very fruitful way to spend Advent.  Pray for yourself and your loved ones to see Love as He came down to earth at Christmas.

Music Monday--Advent--Gabriel's Message

For Advent, Dymphna's Well will be doing a Lessons and Carols of a sort in preparation for Christmas. Today's carol precedes the official start of Advent, but I thought we needed a head start and a reminder of the coming season.

This video features the Choir of King's College, Cambridge Choir in this haunting melody. Also called The Basque Carol, its words speak of the Annunciation of the birth of Christ to the Blessed Virgin.

Preparing for Christmas--The Nativity Fast

I've written before about the Nativity fast kept by our Eastern Christian brethren.  From November 15th to December 12, Eastern Christians fast from meat, dairy and eggs.  On December 13th, they add to that list, fish, olive oil and wine and continue that until Christmas Eve.

In some ways, our Western practice of Advent, with its penitential violet vestments, reflects this, but we have given up the practice of fasting during this time.

With Christmas being a largely secular, money-making holiday today, the idea of fasting during what most people consider the "Christmas Season" is horrifying.  In fact, the Christmas Season begins on December 24th and lasts until at least January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany (Thus, "The 12 Days of Christmas").

Fasting before the great feasts of the year is a way to focus our attention on what is important in preparation for marking a spiritually important part of our lives.

What can we fast from in this time of preparation before Christmas?  Television?  The internet?  News? Cynicism? Hatred? Prejudice? Fatty or sugary foods?  Eating out?

What should we feast on as we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S?  Thankfulness is the obvious thing that comes to mind.  Mindfulness is another.  Try reading the daily readings either at Universalis or, my favorite, Divine Office.  There is nothing like ending the day crying out to God with David and the Church through the psalms.

Give it some thought before the 15th, and before the start of Advent in the Western Church.  How will you prepare for the birth of Christ this year?





 

Advent Calendar

Here is the Advent Calendar for the final time.

Music Monday--Handel's Messiah

The third week of Advent is all about rejoicing.  Handel's Rejoice Greatly Oh Daughter of Zion is perfect for this week that follows Gaudete Sunday.

Advent Calendar

Here is the Advent Calendar. Dymphna's Well was featured on December 10th. Check it out!

Advent Calendar Slide Show

Welcome to all who access this post from Catholic Roundup's Advent Calendar! It is a privilege to be able to contribute to this Catholic New Media effort!

Catholic New Media Advent Calendar

As promised, here, once again, is the Catholic New Media Advent Calendar. This week, I recommend visiting December 2 for an invigorating rendition of Carol of the Bells, reminiscent of Mannheim Steamroller. Click daily on the link on my sidebar to access the calendar each day during Advent.

Music Monday--In the Bleak Midwinter

I like to sing this song during Advent, because it often feels like "the bleak midwinter" both literally and spiritually, until our Savior comes.

Take the Advent Journey

This Advent Calendar will be available 24/7 via the link on the sidebar throughout Advent and once a week as a new post. Click on the applicable day and see what Catholic Round Up has in store for us on that particular day.  NOTE:  If you have trouble accessing this through Google Chrome, try Firefox or Internet Explorer.

Advent Wreath

In spite of the fact that Advent is almost over, I wanted to share with you all a picture of my advent wreath.  Just as I took the picture, the cat decided he wanted to be in on the action!

The advent wreath was made by my husband out of a piece of wood from his father's barn.  He drilled 4 holes using his grandfather's hand drill.  Each year we buy the appropriate colored candles.  On Christmas, I replace them with gold or white candles and put a baby Jesus in a manger in the middle.  Some years I "dress it up" a bit with purple ribbon and/or artificial or real greenery, but this year, we decided to leave it rustic--like the original place where Christ was born.

What is this "Season" Really About?

Catholic Roundup's Blogger's Advent Calendar

RAnn, at This, That and the Other Thing is a contributor to Catholic Roundup's Advent Calender, which has an advent related post for each day until the Feast of Stephen on December 26.  Check back to this post and read their enlightening Advent musings.  It should update automatically.

Nativity Figure Painting

Last year I joined a nativity making group at Yahoo groups. The extent of the hobby then, was to purchase a Fontanini Rug Merchant figure to join my DiGiovanni Nativity and print out some Oriental rugs for him to sell. 

This year, I have been researching the possibility of painting the figures. The picture on the left shows how the Rug Merchant appears straight from the box. 

The picture on the right shows my painting; the rug went from pink to red, his turban went from pink to green, his vest changed from tan to light green, his pants from tan to terra cotta and the base went from tan to dark brown.

The second picture on the left shows the DiGiovanni figures that I painted, as they appear out of the box. This year, I painted Mary, Joseph and the Three Kings.

You see Mary and Joseph in their finished state to the right and the Three Kings below. Joseph got a robe in terra cotta and a cloak in brown with a dark brown base and Mary kept her pink robe and added a blue cloak with a white veil and dark brown base.

The Kings were quite fun to paint.  One got a purple cloak with a white collar and spring green robe, one got a pink cloak, dark green robe and navy pants and the third got a red cloak.  Each monarch got a base in medium brown. 

 Painting these figures makes them much easier to see against the dark stable that I have and gives them individual personalities. 

Blog Update

I wanted to update my readers on some seasonal changes to the blog for December.

I have a new category of links on the top of my sidebar: Advent and Christmas Spiritual Resources. The list is broken down into 5 different sites (I-V). Under Creighton.edu, the 10 letters (A-K) are specific links within that site. There are many others, so feel free to go and browse on all the links.

The virtue for December is Union with God. If you click on the picture of the Madonna and Child with the Holy Eucharist I have on my sidebar, it will take you to a sermon by Father John J. Lombardi, Chaplain of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes at Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, MD on the subject of Union with God during an Advent Retreat.

Further down on the sidebar, is a picture (with a link) of the Immaculate Conception, the traditional devotion for December. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8, and is a Holy Day of Obligation. In spite of its occurrence during the season of Advent, the Immaculate Conception does not refer to Jesus' conception in the womb of Mary, but rather to Mary's conception, free from original sin, in the womb of St. Anne.

Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee
~Canticle of Canticles 4:7

Advent is a wonderful time to meditate on the role of Mary in salvation history.

The Pre-Christmas Fast as an Anti-Depressant

Lisa C. DeLuca writes a very insightful article detailing the benefits of following the Orthodox Church's practice of the pre-Christmas fast. From November 14, through Christmas, Orthodox Christians abstain from meat, cheese, oil and wine to prepare their souls for Christ's coming on Christmas. DeLuca says this practice "helps people grieve their losses, endure their sadness, feed their souls, and, ultimately, experience joy on Christmas day."

Instead of filling their bodies with unnecessarily rich food, and trying to fill their souls with unsatisfying and artificial "Christmas cheer" before the day has even arrived, the Orthodox use Advent as a period of focusing on their own relationship with God and with others. By entering into a period of more intense prayer, and self-giving, Christmas, when it comes, is joy-filled in a way that transcends the temporal, worldly "must-haves" and "must-dos" that characterize it in today's society.

Remember, the manger was filled with food for animals. It wasn't until Jesus was there that it contained Real Food for our souls.