If you are like me and having Thanksgiving at your house your mind right now is consumed with a lot of details about that special day. The last thing on your mind is probably how am I getting prepared for Christmas. However, by the time you have had your turkey leftovers and watched what seems like a marathon of football it will here. The "it" I am referring to is Advent. Amidst the busyness of the holidays keeping track of Advent dates can be tricky. Advent always starts four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. But if you go out to the stores you see amongst all the commercialism of Christmas, Advent has become a popular thing all on its own. There are Advent Calendars of every shape and size and for every interest. All of this is fun and a great addition to the holiday season, but it is not preparing us for the reason for the season---the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. If you are a busy family stretched in different directions, how can you carve how time for Advent and not compromise family fun time? I have an idea that may work on both counts. The Catholic on Demand Channel, Formed has a great new show that combines drawing with learning about our Catholic Faith. It's called Drawing Closer to God with Ms. Kim. The first episode covers the Advent Wreath and its meaning. I have watched the episode and I like it. If I were still teaching, I would use it in my classroom.
As a parent I like it because the whole family can get involved and get something from it. If you have littles who aren't ready to draw on their own each episode comes with a coloring sheet you can download. So, no one in the family gets left out watching it. Ms. Kim is an art teacher. In each episode she teaches children to draw different scenes related to the episode topic. In each episode she incorporates compelling storytelling, while pointing out key details from Scripture and Catholic Faith as you draw along with her. I was able to download the first episode from YouTube. The other episodes are available as I said on Formed (Check the Oct 15 Blog Post for directions on how to get FORMED. It is free and able to be put on Apple TV, Roku, and Firestick along with your computer, tablet and phone.) I also want to share the link to Brother Francis: https://watch.formed.org/brother-francis-1 As you know he is also on Formed and has Advent Episodes. But his are daily 3-minute clips for each day of Advent along with coloring downloads. I hope this gives you some ideas and options to bring Christ into preparing for Christmas.
I'm sure you have heard by now the announcement by Father Chris that he is taking a leave. I have had a couple people reach out and ask what this might mean for First Sacraments. It really changes nothing for us. We will be staying the course that has been mapped out for our First Sacraments Preparation. For me, the change will be instead of meeting with Father Chris I will be meeting with the Bishop Lucia and Deacon Bill each month. Other than that, everything is already in place, and we continue to move forward. If you were at GROW today, I sent home the Christmas card to be made for a resident at Molta House. When they are done with the card it can be saved and returned at the Family Adoration on December 20th. If that doesn't work, it can be left at the Welcome Desk after Mass before December 20th. (There will be an envelope there to put them in by the Sign-in Book.) As always, if you have any questions at any time please reach out. During this special week I wish you and your family Happy Thanksgiving and hope you are able to enjoy some of God's Blessings along the way.
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