Strength and Kindliness
We’ve got Christmas…. All Wrapped Up!
I have been reading some great articles over the last couple of weeks. The articles have appeared in both Eureka Street and the Parish Life Bulletin. Both online publications are produced by Jesuit Communications and certainly worth your attention.
The two articles I refer to are, Living Laudato Si at Christmas and The Power of Gift Giving without the Waste.
If you are anything like me (and many other people in the world) you are up to the point where you are making a list and checking it (more than twice) to ensure that you have got your Christmas list in order, so that it doesn’t miss anyone and so that it doesn’t blow your summer holiday budget.
The articles in mention have helped me to think a little more deeply about the plans that I am making and what I do when it comes to wrapping the presents on my gift list.
One of my very vivid memories of Christmas is that my Dad was always the one who would gather up the paper and the boxes and the envelopes and the bon bon wrappers and all the paper waste that was left over after Christmas Day. It’s funny isn’t it, that times don’t change too much, and my Dad is still responsible for collecting and getting rid of all the paper wrap, it’s just that he has about ten more people to clean up after now that his daughters have husbands and children of their own.
Back when I had more time on my hands I would spend time painstakingly wrapping the gifts that I would hand out on Christmas morning. I must say, I spend time lovingly wrapping each present and writing on each of the cards, but I don’t go to the same elaborate efforts that I once did.
In 2015 Pope Francis wrote a letter to the whole world called Laudato Si. The content of this encyclical has called us to abandon our ‘throw away’ culture and to see that the gift that God has given to the world is the gift of creation … and that we need to care for it.
We all recognise the great push of consumerism that is present in this 21st century. When we make our Christmas list, we can see that we are influenced by the pressures to buy the latest version of everything on the market. Pope Francis in Laudato Si asks us to recognise that this constant push to buy the best and the newest and to throw away the old comes at a great cost to the environment and to people.
The articles that I have referred to herein ask us to think about gift giving in another way. We are called to reject excess and to reduce the inundation of stuff in our lives. It asks us to conscientiously avoid buying stuff for the sake of it.
This doesn’t take away from gift giving, which brings all of us great joy at Christmas time. Giving gifts builds up our relationships, it demonstrates to others that we care about them and that in turn they care about us. Gift giving serves a symbolic function. We can use gift giving to bring joy to others and ourselves. Maybe some of our gifts could build on sharing experiences with those people who are important to us, going to the theatre or a movie or providing a well deserved massage. Buying second hand goods, cooking for a friend or family member or making things is also a great way to show that we care whilst also reducing our carbon footprint.
And, if you get a gift that you don’t really love that much, don’t put it in landfill, regift it or take it down to the local Vinnies store. There will surely be someone else who will love it!
Advent begins this coming Sunday, 1st December. There are four Sundays in Advent. Advent provides us with the chance to reflect on the coming of the birth of Jesus Christ. When you come and visit our Front Office starting from Monday, you will see our Advent Wreath and our Nativity Scene. These are two very special symbols of the Advent/Christmas story.
The first reading for Advent is taken from the Gospel of Matthew.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left. So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
Advent is a Season of Preparation. The readings for the Advent Season help us to prepare to welcome the Christ Child into our lives.
In what ways do you think we can prepare ourselves, to open our hearts and allow ourselves to be guided through the journey to Christmas that is Advent.
‘Let us walk in the light of the Lord’ this Advent.
Watch this clip to learn a bit more about The Season of Advent.
Kirrilee Westblade
Deputy Principal
Catholic Identity
Have you read this Season's edition of Australian Catholics?
https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/current/aust-catholic-magazine
Have your read the current edition of our Diocesan newspaper Sandpiper?