When I was a child waiting for Christmas, it seemed that Christmas took forever to get here.  I’m not sure about the why of all the anticipation, other than it was almost the only time of year I received anything other than the necessities of life.  I do remember that when my mom came home from the store I waited in anticipation to see if there’d be a comic book in the bag!  That was the biggest treat of all time and it kept me busy reading for almost a week. So waiting for Christmas was very difficult, as there was so much excitement at the thought of maybe receiving from Santa at least one of the things I wanted for Christmas.

For days ahead of Christmas, I would pour over the Sears Christmas catalog.   Those Christmas catalogs were the best.  We waited for them to arrive with almost as much anticipation as the gifts themselves.  Looking at every doll, toy and etc. dreaming of what could be, but probably wouldn’t be there on Christmas morning. The pages were pretty rag tailed by Christmas.  Many times we would cut out pictures to make a list on paper to send to Santa.  I sometimes still long for that big Sears catalog in the mail and miss the hours it filled looking and dreaming.  The closest thing we have today is the big ad sections from the stores that appear in the local newspaper, if you happen to get a hard copy of the paper.  I have spent lots of hours poring through those fliers with the grandkids over the years.  It was such fun to dream with them as they made their list from these ads. I could only imagine how excited they would have been to see something like a Big Sears catalog arrive at the house.  Somehow, that provided a lot more entertainment than scrolling through the digital items that appear on my phone or laptop  today.

With the season of waiting for Santa well behind me these days, my focus has shifted to waiting for something which is much more exciting, more life giving and fulfilling than anything contained on those pages of the Sears catalog.  Now I’m waiting to celebrate the birthday of Christ and what that means to me as a Christian.  This was a big change, one that lasts so much longer after Christmas than those empty boxes, broken toys and clothes that have grown too small.  Even with this change, I still find that my Christmas/advent preparation sometimes resembles the folktale of Befana:

Befana, the housewife, scrubbing her pane,

 Saw three old sages ride down the lane,

Saw three grey travelers pass her door—

Gaspar, Balthazar, Melchior.

”Where journey you, sirs?” she asked of them.

Balthazar answered, “To Bethlehem,

For we have news of a marvelous thing.

Born in a stable is Christ the King”

“Give Him my welcome!”

Then Gaspar smiled,

“Come with us, mistress, to greet the Child.”

“Oh, happily would I fare,

Were my dusting through and I’d polished the stair.”

Old Melchior leaned on his saddle horn.

“Then send but a gift to the small Newborn.”

“Oh, gladly, gladly I’d send Him one,

Were the hearthstone swept and my weaving done.

As soon as ever I’ve baked my bread,

I‘ll fetch Him a pillow for His head,

And a coverlet too”, Befana said

“When the rooms are aired and the linen dry,

I’ll look at the babe.”

But the Three rode by.

She worked for a day and a night and a day.

Then, gifts in her hands, took up her way.

But she never found where the Christ Child lay.

And still she wanders at Christmastide,

Houseless, whose house was all her pride.

Whose heart was tardy, whose gifts were late;
Wanders, and knocks at every gate.

Crying, “Good people, the bells begin!

Put off your toiling and let love in.”

There is so much about this fable that runs true for me in regards to the Advent season. There were so many Christmases where I just got all wound up in the worldly pleasures and forgot to get ready for the real birthday.  My spiritual side was unfed and consequently Christmas did not provide enlightenment.  There aren’t enough presents to fill the spiritual void of not being prepared for the coming of Christ.  Advent is upon us again and providing me another opportunity to feed my spiritual life.  When Christmas morning arrives I want to celebrate the joy of Mary giving birth to the person who created her.  I would like to feel the birth of Christ within my being and to be filled with the joy of God coming into my world as a human.  I want to fully recognize that He is totally giving His whole life to me and all of us.

It’s difficult to wait and prepare for something we don’t have full control over in terms of our spiritual growth.  I am in a situation of needing to trust that it will happen on this Christmas morning, and if I’m prepared, I just might become enlightened.  Someone once asked Anthony de Mello, who was a Jesuit priest born in Bombay, India in 1931 (he is regarded as one of the 20th century’s foremost spiritual masters), what they should do to become enlightened?  To which deMello replied, “as little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.”  To which his student further replied, “then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?”  And deMello’s answer was, “To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.”

deMello’s comments certainly give me pause to realize that I need to be awake and ready for the  enlightenment that comes with the birth of Christ.  I need to take time away from all the busyness of getting ready in the secular world, to take time to also feed my spiritual self.  The pandemic has provided some wonderful gifts, in spite of all the negative aspects of experiencing this event.  Many places that were once beehives of activity, have now moved online and are providing a plethora of experiences to help us stay awake. A variety of resources are available 24/7 to read, listen and watch in regards to preparing.

EarthBeat – They are providing a journey called, “Simple Advent, Abundant Life”.  Learning how to simplify and shift our gaze.

Word on Fire —  Catholic Ministries, has a variety of advent information, video and lots of information from Bishop Robert Barron.

Dynamic Catholic – Has a wonderful advent series, Let your soul shine,  that I’ve enjoyed many times at advent throughout the years.

Catholic.org – This site has numerous things to pick from including, complete classes, prayers, videos.  All sorts of things to help you prepare for Advent.

EWTN – has a many different experiences from which to choose.  Short readings, videos and etc.

Bible Study Tools – This is a wonderful site that provides plenty of tools to make this a wonderful advent season.  This site provides lots of background into many of the advent traditions.

As I said, the list goes on and on and there are numerous resources to keep us awake so that we are ready to be enlightened, whenever it should happen.  If you have something wonderful you’ve used to stay awake, share it!  I would love to hear from you.

For so many people, music is an inspiration to their experience of Advent.  Marianne shared this magical song with me today and little did she know that the history surrounding this song is also a beautiful example of staying awake!  What Child is This  – The Hound and the Fox. This song was written by William Chatterton Dix who in 1865, when he was just 29, suffered a near-fatal bout of sickness.  He experienced severe depression in conjunction with this and had a near-death experience that changed his life.  During his recovery, he experienced a spiritual awaking (enlightenment) that spurred him to write hymns.  It was while writing these hymns that he started to immerse himself in the bible and from this immersion, he wrote the lyrics of this beautiful Christmas song.

While I don’t know if I’ll be enlightened during this advent season, I just need to trust that it is possible.  So during this season of Advent I will be working on “staying awake so that I am not asleep when the sun begins to rise”.  Wishing you the best advent ever!