Vatican II at 50: Prepare

 This weekend marks the one year anniversary that Catholics in English-speaking countries began praying with the New Roman Missal.   This was the first major liturgical change to take place since the changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council fifty years ago.  Those changes were more or less sprung on the people without much notice.    In some places, people came to church to find the altar turned around, the priest facing them and the prayers in their own language.  The aftershocks from the way those changes happened are still being felt nearly fifty years later.   So, this time around the Church did things a little differently.  Not only were people given advance notice of the changes in the New Roman Missal,  they were also told why they were taking place.   Whether or not people agreed with the changes, most people would agree that adequate preparation was key. 

Advent is all about preparation.    We prepare our hearts to welcome Christ anew.    In the midst of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all the other frenzied preparations for Christmas, the Church asks us to prepare spiritually.   Here are some practical ways to make that happen:

·         Recharge your prayer-life.   Pray at different times of the day or in different places.  Write your own prayer for Advent focused on this question:   For what or whom am I waiting? 

·         Pray with music.  Pray by singing your favorite psalm refrain or listening to a recording of your favorite sacred music.

·         Read the Scripture readings for Advent each day and trust the radical hope they offer.

·         Spend time contemplating the reality of a God who became human.

·         Reach out to those in need.   Call someone who is ill, send a card to someone who is lonely,

buy a Christmas gift or sponsor a family in need and continue to pray for them.      

·         Perform random acts of kindness by paying for the person behind you in the drive-thru or toll booth.

·         Let go of a past hurt.

·         Forgive someone who has wronged you and then reach out to them.

When we take our Advent preparation seriously, we are more likely to experience the true meaning of Christmas, the new life of Jesus, Emmanuel.