For the Weekend of November 29, 2020
Dear People of God
We may have already heard the story of the little boy who was quite anxious and excited because his
grandmother was coming to visit. He was up early on the day itself and at his parents’ bedside. “Is she
here yet?” “No, she’ll be here after lunch.” “Oh.”
By breakfast he had a solution: “Let’s eat lunch early!”
The season of Advent is a time of joyful expectation. The Lord is coming! Wake up! Get ready! We
probably cannot hope to be as excited as this little boy, but the church puts us in touch with the
eagerness of the early Christians at Rome.
The early Church had to deal with some extremes. Why work if the end is near? With the passage of
years, the Church realized that it might be a long time before Jesus came a second time. That brought
other problems. The delay could make us forget or become complacent about his coming.
That is where we are today. The First Sunday of Advent comes as a surprise in the humdrum of our daily
lives. We are running around as usual, from one task to the next, one busy day to the next, when
suddenly here it is again. What? Is it that time of the year again?
The church encourages us to slow down, to refocus, to wait for the coming of the Lord in quiet hope. The
idea of the Lord’s coming has expanded since the time of St. Paul. We still look forward to his coming in
glory at the end of time, but we concentrate more now on preparing ourselves for his present coming in
grace as we look back to his first coming, the incarnation, to understand what it means for us.
The Novena to the Immaculate Conception begins today and runs through December 7th. Copies of the
Novena were available at the back of the Church, or at the parish office. Pray it every day.
December 5th: 200 Hands for Mary
December 12th: Parish Advent Retreat Day = - 9:00am Registration 9:30am Rosary -
10:00am Mass - 11:15am Conference - 12:15pm Lunch - 2:00pm Adoration - 3:00pm Dismissal
As usual please remember to pray for all of the Salesians in our presence here at MHC . . . especially Fr.
Sid Figlia, SDB – still hospitalized – and those of our other Salesian brothers at St. Philip Residence. Be
assured we will be doing the same for you.
Peace Always!
Fr. Steve Dumais, SDB.
Pastor