Dear Friends in Christ:
A few years ago for Advent, I gave one sentence homilies. People seemed shocked at first that the homily was so short. Actually, many were incredulous! Though very quickly it became quite evident that people seemed to truly enjoy them. In fact, there have been a number of parishioners who have suggested and requested in the years since that I repeat those homilies during Advent. While many enjoyed the brevity, I learned that most people could not remember what the four, short sentences were! Needless to say, that did not build up my confidence as a homilist of any great impact and profundity! Oh well!
Just to refresh your memory, here they are:
To have a joyful Christmas, have a holy Advent!
Slow down and pray more!
The key to happiness is holiness!
It is not about us, it is about Jesus!
These are simple statements but each is packed with a serious challenge. Simple though they are in their brevity, they none-the-less take real effort to live. Each of these brief statements require a change in ourselves and can result in a truly profound change in our lives. But as with all change, we must want to change and must be willing to do what is necessary to change. Change does not happen automatically and seldom does it occur instantly. Change takes effort and time.
These four weeks of Advent are a wonderful gift, but like any gift, this time must be availed for the fullness of the benefit to be realized. The time of this Advent will never be given to us again. Advent is a reminder that the gift of time is a transitory gift. It is given one moment, one day at a time; it is a gift that God never repeats. Our failure to take advantage of the gift of this Advent may not bring catastrophe, doom and gloom to our existence but, it will diminish us and we will be poorer. We will miss out on that which is greater, deeper, more profound and far more beautiful. We will miss out or delay what God wants us to have and who God wants us to be.
So I will once again exhort: may all of us take to heart these four simple sentences,
To have a joyful Christmas, have a holy Advent!
Slow down and pray more!
The key to happiness is holiness!
It is not about us, it is about Jesus!
Have a holy Advent .
In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy Gately