Dear friends of God, Happy Advent!
Advent is the beginning of our liturgical year. It is a moment of new beginnings as we prepare for Christ’s birth in Bethlehem 2000 years ago and every day in our hearts. Advent is a time when we recognize that God always keeps his promise to be present to us. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that “The Lord is our justice.” From his chosen people God has raised up a savior, Jesus Christ. We are fortunate that God is his love has shared the gift of the Messiah with the whole human race and all of creation. St. Paul’s first Letter to the Thessalonians reminds us that God desires that we “…abound in love for one another and all…”. Advent is a time to begin to love again. Our world certainly needs to enter in the Advent mode of living where we place the love of all at the center for our lives and our choices. We believe that God is love and when we fail to love our neighbor, our enemy and ourselves, we fail to live as God desires us to live in harmony and peace. It is fitting that Advent is a new year for us because it is an opportunity to be the loving people that we have been created to be as we await the birth of the incarnation of Divine Love.
Love is more than words. Love is reflected in our actions. Love is as simple as sharing our daily bread or daily spaghetti. Advent is a time of prayer and almsgiving in a similar way to Lent, but this gets forgotten in our consumer-addicted culture. I want to encourage us to assist our local Pinconning Area Emergency Food Pantry with this Reverse Advent Calendar. You can simply leave your contributions in the pantry box which is found at the entrance of our church.
Let’s offer care for our Pinconning community as we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child on Christmas.
December 5 macaroni and cheese
December 6 canned fruit
December 7 canned tomatoes
December 8 canned tuna
December 9 brownies
December 11 noodles
December 12 stuffing
December 14 box of crackers
December 15 package of rice
December 16 package of oatmeal
December 18 spaghetti sauce
December 20 tomato soup
December 21 can corn