Advent: Time for family and spiritual enrichment

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
Dec. 13, 2007

Are you running behind on getting your Christmas cards out?

The diocesan director of catechesis, evangelization and RCIA said that's no problem.

"One thing great about being Catholic is that there is no pressure to get your cards out early," said Mark Thomason, who added that Christmas starts Dec. 25 and runs for eight days thereafter.

A priest once told him that if people send cards early, they could actually send Advent cards.

While it can be tempting to get all caught up in consumerism and the hurry and hustle of finding the perfect gifts, Thomason reminded parishioners that Advent is a time for spiritual preparation as well as a time to relax.

"We do get caught up in the world's point-of-view and we are not of this world," he said. "It also seems like the world takes a time that is meant to be a time of quiet and makes it very loud and busy, which I find to be funny."

The secular preparation for Christmas is almost the opposite of the spiritual aspect.

"Hurry, rush, push and grab," said Thomason. "It's the wisdom of the church to give us a time of quiet preparation."

He suggested that people devote some extra time to prayer during the season of Advent and possibly consider dropping a few pounds before the big Christmas feast through fasting.

"We all - myself included - kind of get caught up and lost in it. It's good to take a step back and look at what Advent is and when Christmas does really start," said Thomason.

He called snow the perfect gift for Advent as it offers a quiet and contemplative setting.

"You can think about how Our Lady was meditating that final month. How quiet and contemplative she must have been and then she has to journey to Bethlehem," said Thomason.

Even the Scripture readings of the season take on that reflective tone as they are centered on the end of times.

"It's a funny paradigm that I love about being Catholic - we remember the birthday by looking forward to when he comes back. It's a unique perspective that we have," he said. "It's a good season of memory."

So, should parishioners just lock themselves up and pray away the days as Christmas approaches? Of course not.

Along with the spiritual aspect, Thomason said it's a great season to establish and/or carry on family traditions as well as remember past traditions.

The Advent season, he noted, is one of the most "lived perspectives for Catholics. We are rich in tradition - personal and family traditions, local traditions and church traditions."

One of his best memories was of a fellow altar server panicking because he couldn't reach over the Communion rail to place the baby Jesus into the crèche scene. The boy just threw him in there perfectly.

Having moved to Iowa less than a year ago, Thomason noted that one of the things he has most been impressed with is how much importance people place on family life. That provides a great chance to pass on traditions of families and the church.

He views catechesis as more than teaching the faith, it's really passing on the faith.

"The traditions of how we live are really catechesis," said Thomason.

Another childhood memory is the making of the toilet paper roll Advent wreath. This year his nephew is making one.

"You forget how important those things were to you," he said.

Family time and traditions are not only wonderful for the lived human experience, but he said the family unit is part of the faith.

"The perfect model of the church is the holy family," said Thomason. "This season is a great chance to remember that."