Advent Meditations: Monday 10 Dec 12

" For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee." - Isaiah 54:10

Peace can be hard to find on a hectic Monday...and hectic Mondays in December can often pull us away from the true meaning of the season...

This "holiday commerce season" is a modern invention...if one looks at observances even in the early 1900s, one notices that folks did not decorate the tree or hold Christmas parties or sing Christmas carols until the liturgical Christmas season began...on Christmas. 

 Nowadays, shops are decorating before Halloween, and many folks are decorating before Thanksgiving! And while there is nothing wrong with a lovely tree, as a culture we have lost the time of spiritual preparation in all this "rush rush to party". 

As a compromise, we have an Advent tree - which usually goes up on Gaudete Sunday...our Advent tree is simply a "Christmas tree in waiting"... we decorate it with white lights and purple and pink ribbons. On Christmas Eve (or Christmas morning when its been a REALLY hectic week), we pull out all the colorful ornaments and start the celebration of Christmas itself.

Peace!