Dear Fellow Digital Pilgrim, pax Christi:
I just love Advent and Christmas, which are right around the corner. Maybe it’s because, with my vow of poverty, I don’t have to deal with the hassle of Christmas shopping… 🙂 Even though that is true, I do know how busy and hectic, and even stressful, these liturgical seasons can be. And yet, even so, there is something special about this time of year. In spite of the rising secularism and the craziness of our fallen world, the weeks leading up to Christmas, and the days surrounding that most important of birthdays, remain truly special, particularly graced. They tell us, quietly but beautifully, what our souls most desperately need to hear: “God so loved the world [that’s you and me], that he gave his only son [the little baby born in Bethlehem] so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
God thought of me, of you, of each of us. And he still thinks of us – all the time. He loves us so much that he can’t stop thinking of us, and reaching out to us, and inviting us into his Kingdom. That’s what Advent and Christmas say to us, in so many ways.
As the current liturgical year draws to its close, and a new one dawns, it is my sincere and impassioned prayer that our newest Advent Retreat Guide, The Hidden Treasures of Christmas, will help you hear that message in a fresh and refreshing way.
I would also like to ask you a favor. Please share with your friends and family members, parishes, and colleagues, the good news of Christmas, by sharing with them all of RC Spirituality’s Advent Retreat Guides. We are beginning our fourth year of Retreat Guide Production, and our library is growing. Everyone can listen to, watch, or read one meditation a day or a few each week during the Advent season. Help Christ’s message reach more people this year – give others the tools they need to encounter the Prince of Peace in prayer. Share our Advent Retreat Guides: You Matter, Starlight, The Art of Waiting, and The Hidden Treasures of Christmas.
God bless you and keep you!
Fr. John Bartunek, LC