Bulletin Reflection for December 13:
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Making room.
Are you the kind of person for everything has to be "just right"? If so, this season is really hard on you, isn't it?
I know. I used to be that kind of person. Still am in many ways, but I think I tamed that perfectionism at least a bit.
There's so much to do, so many obligations to meet, such an investment of time and energy in making everything just right for everybody.
I sometimes wonder if if it would be a good idea for the Church to give us the Gospel reading of Mary and Martha during these last days of Christmas preparation. (It's Luke 10:36-42; hey, why not read it now?) Certainly we would hear Jesus challenging all the hustle and bustle of our perfectionist preparations.
More than ever, I think it's important during this time to step aside from it all, even if only for a few minutes. Catch our breath. And let Jesus speak
Even our prayer tends to be busy. As Catholics, many of us have grown up in a tradition that told us "praying" meant "saying prayers." And if you prayed simply by saying prayers, the more time you could give was automatically meritorious, and the faster you could say them -- the more prayers you could squeeze in a given length of time -- the better you prayed. I remember doing that. If you are old enough to have any gray hairs, you probably do too.Making room.
Are you the kind of person for everything has to be "just right"? If so, this season is really hard on you, isn't it?
I know. I used to be that kind of person. Still am in many ways, but I think I tamed that perfectionism at least a bit.
There's so much to do, so many obligations to meet, such an investment of time and energy in making everything just right for everybody.
I sometimes wonder if if it would be a good idea for the Church to give us the Gospel reading of Mary and Martha during these last days of Christmas preparation. (It's Luke 10:36-42; hey, why not read it now?) Certainly we would hear Jesus challenging all the hustle and bustle of our perfectionist preparations.
More than ever, I think it's important during this time to step aside from it all, even if only for a few minutes. Catch our breath. And let Jesus speak
Between now and Christmas, try to step aside, for at least a few minutes a day, from the burdens of trying to get everything right. As Jesus so often said to his followers, "Come apart and rest a while." Rest was important for him. The openness and emptiness that are part of true rest are also important, because that gives God something to do. God can't fill us with the gift of himself if we are already full with all kinds of other things.
These last two weeks before Christmas the most important thing you can do is to make room . . .for Him.
I pray that this season of preparation may be one of great grace for you and all those you love. I love you.
Fr. Tom Welbers
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