DOMESTIC CHURCH

As an example of ideas that are natural rituals in your domestic church, please go to http://www.ncronline.org/. This is the National Catholic Reporter that has some very good articles on contemporary church issues.



If you took a blue book for Advent this year, please go to the page for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. It talks about "The House Church". It reaffirms what you are doing in preparation around your home as part of the "Domestic" church.

Advent Adventures

Come, Lord Jesus

Advent is my favorite church season! There are so many meaningful traditions to help families focus on the meaning of this season of waiting. When my children were little we would light the candles on the advent wreath and turn out the lights. The candle light gave a warm glow and seemed to enhance our conversations at dinner time. I would encourage you to put an Advent wreath together today.

There are no hard and fast rules as to the materials you can use but there are a few symbols you will want to include. First of all be sure to start with a circle of some kind. Wreaths are circular with no beginning or end. They remind us of the love that God has for us. It has always been there, and will always continue. A wreath should also have some kind of green base. So you might want to start with a green paper plate, green play dough, a piece of green garland, green crepe paper, or boughs from a pine tree. The next items you will need are 4 candles. Light has always been a symbol of hope in the darkness. The candles on the Advent wreath remind us that Jesus is the light that came into our world. We use 4 candles to represent the 4 weeks of Advent. We usually use 3 purple (or deep blue) candles and 1 pink. Purple is used because, long ago, purple dye was very expensive and became associated with royalty. Because Advent was associated with the coming of our Kind, Jesus, we use purple. On the 3rd Sunday we light the pink candle. This is called Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday which reminds us  that we are over half way to Christmas! You can then add bits of ribbon or pine cones, or red beads or anything that you think would look nice. The last and most important thing is to use your Advent wreath to pray each day. You might like to pray the following prayer after you light your Advent candles or make up your own prayer!

      Loving God,

Bless our Advent time of waiting.

May this light be a sign of the coming of Jesus.

May it brighten our way as we journey towards Christmas Day.

Help us to share your light and love with everyone we meet today and tomorrow.

Amen

Monthly Mission for December

To the GIFT families of 6th, 7th, 8th graders and high school students:

Pam Dennis and Sandy Ciha are continuing the Monthly Mission service activities started by Isaac Garcia last year. The first Monthly Mission will take place during the December 12th GIFT session. We will be stuffing and delivering stockings to our parish members who reside in the Willow Springs Mobile Park across from St. James. Please bring a few of the following items with you on December 12th for the stockings. Also, remember to dress warm! We will return to St. James by 1:30, when GIFT ends.

The service opportunity is open to all middle and high school students of
St. James. Suggested items for the elderly residents at Willow Springs:
(20-25 stockings)

6th Grade - bring pocket sized tissue packs (the soft ones!) & postage stamps
7th Grade - bring notepads & unscented lotions
8th Grade - bring lifesavers or lemon drop candies, tea or hot chocolate packs
High Schoolers - bring a Christmas ornament

If you have any questions, please contact Pam Dennis fotopubnavy@yahoo.com
or Sandy Ciha sciha@wi.rr.com

A Reflection on Sunday's 2nd Reading

When you go to Mass this Sunday, you will hear readings from the Bible. To prepare yourself and your family to truly hear God's Word, read and discuss this short article before you go.



Romans 15:7-13 Treat All as Christ



If you were to visit a Benedictine monastery, you would likely see the words "treat all as Christ" posted on a wall or left in a handwritten note on your bed. Benedictines embrace hospitality and approach every stranger as they would Jesus Christ himself. Is hospitality a gift you possess? Does your family welcome the stranger? In today's world, where safety is often the measure of our actions, Paul's instruction to welcome others as Christ welcomes us may seem too risky. But it should never stop us from seeing Christ in each person -- from the homeless person begging for a dollar to the driver who cuts ahead of us in traffic -- and offering him or her the respect we would offer Jesus. Sometimes strangers are even people who are quite close to us. We regard them as strangers because they think or act or believe differently than we do; but we are called to welcome them as well. As a family, share how you can offer the gift of hospitality.



If you have a copy of this Bible, this article appears on p. 1416 of the Catholic Faith & Family Bible, produced by the Center for Ministry Development, published by HarperCollins, 2010.