Advent Events

A week ago yesterday was our Christmas parade. Our theme of bringing Jesus' light and peace to the world (with the help of twenty-five beautiful children) won second place. It is hard to tell the size of the globe from the pictures, but Asia and Africa each took up nearly our whole kitchen. The globe was so high up, parts of the top got ripped off as we drove underneath trees on the route. (P.S. My camera broke part way through the parade, so I don't have the pictures I'd like to share, but here is one to give you an idea.)


Since then much of the Hispanic component of our parish has been meeting for Our Lady of Guadalupe Novena. It is a wonderful devotion. Every night we meet at a different house, sing, say the rosary, and, of course, eat. I knew the Hail Mary and Our Father pretty well in Spanish before these nights but now I think I've got them down. The rain has made things a bit challenging as porches and lawns are not an option. I am consistently amazed at how many people we can pack into a house.

Last weekend I was down near Jackson helping with a diocesan retreat program for high school students. It was a very long weekend with limited hours for sleep, but great to be part of. Again I got to connect with other youth directors and meet lots of students. I was asked to give the religious life component of the Commitment talk and, more than anything, was just a presence on the weekend. I hardly knew what to do with myself with so little responsibility. It was probably a good thing since I was pretty tired to begin with.

With all of the Advent events, I've had to be very intentional about prayer. It is a good thing that God puts in me a real desire to be with him/her. May the desire to know Christ continue to drive our actions this Advent season.

Peace.

--Sarah