December Newsletter - 2004

Dear Friends in Christ’s Divine Mercy:

Children have many expressions that express their unique zest for life. For example, how often do we hear them say: “I can’t wait…?” I remember as a child how slow time seemed to move. Monday and Friday seemed to be separated by twenty days, rather than five. I remember staring at the clock in school just willing it to move so I could go to recess, lunch, or home. Time moves so slowly for children. “I can’t wait for Christmas!” “I can’t wait until summer vacation!” “I can’t wait until the weekend!” “I can’t wait until I can drive!” “I can’t wait until the prom!” Well, you get the point; they can’t wait. A day to a child is a very long time. Tell your young child, grandchild, niece or nephew that the activity that you had planned for today will have to wait until tomorrow. Watch their reaction. “Tomorrow!!!” It may as well be next year. On the other hand, tell an older person that the activity may have to wait a month or two and it is usually not such a big deal. We learn to wait for things through life experiences. Also, remember that a day for a young person is a larger percentage of their life than it is for us. If you are 60 years old, for example, you have lived approximately 21,900 days. So from that point of view what are a few more days?

When we look at young people we sometimes feel sad because we wish that they could enjoy being children and teenagers. But (like us when we were their age) they are very anxious to grow up. They can’t wait to get their braces off, to drive, to date, to go to college, to turn twenty-one. Did you ever hear someone say: ”I can’t wait to turn 53?” Neither have I, but most of us are waiting for something. What about you? Is there something you are waiting for? Advent is a season of waiting. The single woman is waiting for her boyfriend to give her a diamond; the groom is waiting in the sacristy for his bride to show up at the Church. The expectant mother is waiting for her child’s birth; the family in vigil at a loved one’s bedside is waiting for a birth into new life. High school seniors are waiting to hear from their colleges. Prisoners are waiting for their sentences to be served. People everywhere are waiting for test results, for surgeries, for phone calls, for jobs, for their children to come home, for their mother-in-law to visit, for retirement, for Christmas to be over. What are you waiting for?

Advent is a season of waiting and hoping. Hope is so important! I often pray for people in “despair.” I choose the word intentionally because it is a horrible place to be, i.e. without hope. Day after day I receive your prayer intentions on the prayer line. I want you to know that I pray fervently for your intentions. I also want you to know that I am inspired by your faith. When I get a glimpse of some of your struggles, sorrows, and burdens my heart and prayers go out to you. But at the same time I also am so uplifted by your hope! Even asking others to pray with us and for us is evidence of hope. Even in our waiting we must not lose hope. God is faithful and He will fulfill every promise to us. He will not always answer our prayers in the way we think He should or on our time schedule, but He will not leave us disappointed. Our faith and hope is expressed in our conviction that no matter how bleak things look at the present moment, God will not let us down. The people of Israel were waiting and hoping for a Messiah. Many had given up hope that He would ever come. The Father answered their hopes and prayers “in the fullness of time” and in a way that they could not have even imagined: He sent His Own Son!

Christmas is a celebration of God’s never failing promise to us that He will always be with us. How often we hear people say that Christmas is for children. Nothing against children, but it is not so much the children who inspire me at Christmas. I am inspired by the faith of the dying person who is looking forward to spending Christmas in heaven. I am moved by the faith of those who have recently lost loved ones and still decorate their houses. I am touched at Christmas Mass looking out at the faith and joy that is still present in peoples’ faces despite heavy crosses. The examples of peoples’ goodness and faithfulness are endless. All around us are heroes of faith “soldiering on” in their pilgrim journey. Christmas is not celebrated in spite of problems, crises, and tragedies. It is celebrated because life is riddled with problems, crises and tragedies and we have a God who comes to save us! Christmas joy is not reserved for Pollyanna who sees nothing wrong with the world. Rather, joy is the grateful attitude of one that experiences the problems in their fullness yet can rejoice because the Lord has come, will come again and we believe in faith that we will be with Him for all eternity.

As Advent enters its fourth week my prayer for you is that even as you are waiting and hoping for God’s promise to be fulfilled that you have the grace of serenity that comes with knowing that God is already with us and will come again. We have very real and present fears, anxieties, worries, sorrows and problems. There is no denying them or hiding from them. At times they can seem overwhelming. Yet in the midst of our trials we are already celebrating the Victory that our Lord has won through His life, death and resurrection! From that perspective even when we are in the crucibles that this life offers us, in faith we can still gratefully and joyfully say: “Christ has come so all will be well!”

God bless you,
Rev. Richard F. Clancy