Happy New Year

When I was at Mass this morning the celebrant began with a most unusual greeting for the congregation assembled.  He walked up the aisle to the Advent wreath and simply said, “Happy New Year to everyone!”  I thought this a rather unusual way to begin the blessing of the Advent wreath but as he spoke it became clearer as to what this greeting really meant.  Today we truly began a new year, another Church year.

Last week we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the outgoing Church year.  Today we celebrated the First Sunday of Advent and began the new Church year.  The term Advent comes from a Latin word adventus meaning “coming, arrival.”  During these weeks we will look again at the coming of Jesus at Christmastime and welcoming him into our lives in the here and now.

As we journey once again to the manger let us remember to reach out to all those in need, take time to pray more or just take some quiet time to be present to the Lord, and let us remember to always seek to improve our relations with the people around us.  May this new Church year be filled with many blessings and great joy for all.

Pat Schifini, OSU