We are in the middle of the shortest Advent possible – just 22 days.
The general perception is that Advent is four weeks, but the ritual actually calls for four Sundays. This year, the fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve. We wrap up Advent the morning of Dec. 24, and we change over to the Christmas Eve Vigil that afternoon.
In some ways, a three-week Advent puts more pressure on us to slow down enough to prepare our minds, hearts and souls for Christmas.
The commercialization of Christmas began weeks ago. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of Christmas music. The malls are packed with shoppers. The post office is full of gifts being sent. In the middle of all that, let’s not forget to spend more time in prayer, to draw closer to the Lord, and to prepare ourselves for him to be born in us once again.
The Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve falling on the same day also presents extra challenges for figuring out when to go to church.
The afternoon liturgy on Christmas Eve is almost always the largest. At some parishes, attendance at that Mass can equal the weekly total for regular Sundays, particularly when parishes have two Masses going on simultaneously. In the parishes I served, we would sometimes have 2,000 or more people at that first Christmas Eve Mass. While the fire marshal might not have been pleased, it was great to see so many people wanting to celebrate the great feast of Christmas.
For parents and grandparents of younger children, the pageants and choirs of little ones often determine which Mass the family will attend. For others, it’s more a question of convenience. Which Mass time best fits with the activities and expectations of Christmas?
I definitely understand that. I also wonder if, ideally, it shouldn’t be the other way around. How do we wrap the activities of Christmas around the great celebration at Mass?
It will be a very busy day come Dec. 24, with churches having Sunday morning Masses followed by afternoon Masses to celebrate the feast of Christmas. The question is whether everybody chooses to come for both the Sunday obligation and the joy of Christmas Eve. My experience is that many will not. In choosing one or the other, though, we either shortchange ourselves one Sunday of Advent or miss the joyous Christmas celebration.
We priests will be there. We love the Eucharist and the chance to celebrate with our families. We love seeing so many people come back who might not always be there, whether they are in town visiting or come only on special occasions like Christmas.
In fact, a recent survey showed that about 52 million Catholics go to church on Christmas and Easter. That’s a little more than 80% of the estimated 62 million Catholics in the United States. At the same time, this survey showed that only about 22% come to Church every week. I find that sad and somewhat discouraging, but I understand it’s where we are today.
I pray that we all celebrate the gift of Christmas joyfully, enthusiastically, and in a way that makes it more than a one-time event. It is the culmination of weeks of preparation, and it is the beginning of our very salvation.
In these short weeks of Advent, I also encourage all of us to find ways to serve the Lord by serving those around us. Service to others is an important part of our faith journey.
Catholic Charities is full of activities this time of year. We serve our clients with gifts and meals during the Christmas season, and you are welcome to join us. Maybe your parish has an angel tree, or has special meals for those who are homeless, coat drives, food drives and more.
I encourage you to take time to think about what you can do to make sure those who are hungry, homeless, downtrodden and forgotten can also experience Christmas – and experience it in a way that others see Jesus in you.
We celebrate his birth 2,000 years ago, and we also celebrate his presence among us today in those less fortunate. By giving back and giving of ourselves, we experience more deeply the ultimate gift of a God who loves us so much that he gave his only Son.
I wish you a holy event in which your faith and love of God deepens. I wish you a joyful and blessed Christmas in which you rejoice in the gift of Jesus and our salvation. And I wish you a happy New Year in which you continue responding to God’s great gift and becoming the person God has called you to be.
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
