<TW>Weekend of 19 and 20 December 2009

.=:  T H I S    W E E K E N D  :=.
     from Father Pat Umberger

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I R E L A N D    2 0 1 0
In 2004 I led a wonderful Pilgrimage to Ireland, the Emerald Isle. I spoke
with Gary from Pentecost Tours today and he's putting together a
Pilgrimage to Ireland for the Fall of 2010 .... probably in October. Keep
it in the back of your mind ... or start saving your nickels. I'll let you
know when firm dates and other information is available. For now, let's
pray for the success of this wonderful Pilgrimage! If you're interested
visit my Web Site and sign up for informational e-mails.  www.frpat.com

A D E S S E    R A F F L E    C A L E N D A R S
Here's a great way to help Saint Patrick's Parish and have something to
look forward to all year long. Our Adesse Raffle Calendars offer a prize
every day in 2010 ... from $30 to $500 each day.  Prizes total $16,580. 
No more than 3000 calendars are sold.  If you're interested in helping
out, just follow the banner link from:  www.frpat.com

B I S H O P   L I S T E C K I
Chosen to be Eleventh Archbishop of Milwaukee?
We keep Bishop Listecki very much in our prayers!  So where does that
leave us.  Visit my Web Site for a complete explanation of how our new
Bishop will be chosen.  Just follow the link from:  www.frpat.com

.=:  V O L U M E   2 0 0 9 , Number 12-19 :=.

.=:  T H I S   W E E K E N D ' S   S C R I P T U R E S  :=.

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C.
Weekend of 19 and 20 December 2009

.=:  R E F L E C T I O N    Q U E S T I O N S  :-.
The Scriptures for this weekend are found here:
   http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/110109.shtml
"He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now
his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace." 
What kind of savior were people looking for?  How did they want their
messiah to bring peace?  How did Jesus bring peace?

"Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved."
How can we best turn to the Lord?  What could keep us from doing so?  How
does our self-pity make it difficult for the Lord to find room to come to
us?

"Rouse your power, and come to save us."  What kind of power does this
Psalm speak of?  What kind of power did Jesus bring?  In what ways could
today's world be different if people had received the kind of savior they
were praying for rather than the kind God wanted them to have?

"Behold, I come to do your will."  Jesus did God's will by coming to us,
living with us, dying for us and rising again.  What is God's will for us?
Why could it be scary to honestly say, "Behold, I come to do your will." 
If you can muster the courage to think about it, where could it lead you?

""Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
In the short time that remains until Christmas, we can imagine what this
time of expectation could have been like for Mary.  What gave her the
courage to do God's will?

"Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."  Mary trusted that if she did God's will, God would
give her the strength and courage she needed.  What words does the Lord
speak to us? Can we have the same kind of trust Mary had?

How are these Scriptures comforting?  Challenging?

.=:  S P I R I T U A L   R E F L E C T I O N   :=.

Hasn't Advent gone by quickly this year.  It couldn't be any shorter!  In
a few days we'll gather for the first Mass of Christmas.  But there's
still some a bit time to prepare.  It's never too late to get ready!

People had prayed so hard and long for a Messiah to come.  They expected
and wanted a mighty warrior king, someone who could protect and defend
them. Their physical property was in jeopardy.  They needed somebody to
intervene and make things better.  So they prayed to God, "O come o come
Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel who mourns in lonely exile here, until
the Son of God appear."

The Son of God will indeed come.  So how can this year be different from
others?

We can focus too much on making things perfect for Christmas.  We can trim
the tree and decorate the house just so.  We can bake wonderful cookies
and buy wonderful gifts.  Everything on the outside can be in order.  Yet
we can come up short.  When Christmas is over we can feel even emptier
than before. Is that all there is?

We need to be open for a surprise!  Jesus came into the world because
people were suffering, not because they were so prosperous and holy. He
came to redeem a fallen world, and to reassure people that God was with
them in their times of need.  He came to show them how to lift one another
up.  His own life wouldn't be spared, but he gave all he had out of love
for his people!

We can spend some time taking an inventory of our needs.  It needn't be
too scary to think of those we have lost over the years, and pray for
them.  We can even consider broken relationships and disappointments.  We
can look at our resentments too, and pray for those who may resent us.  We
can try to identify the emptiness within ourselves.  If we're not able to
do so, we can offer it to God anyway. When we do these things, then Jesus
can come to us and fill us.  We won't be asking, "Is that all there is?"

In order for Jesus to do that, we need to be open.  We'll need to put our
self-pity aside.  The tired old, "Christmas is for young people," "What do
I have to celebrate?" and "I can't wait until it is over" can effectively
keep Jesus away from us.  If we decide how things will be, we'll make them
that way.  The old saying is, "Have a nice day, unless you've decided
otherwise." We can decide otherwise.  That's easy to do.

On the other hand, we can be people who make and build peace.  We can
phone someone who has been at a distance for a long while.  We can get in
touch with someone we know is having a hard time.  We can listen to the
Christmas stories of an older person.  We can reach out to make things
nice for somebody else.  And when we're not watching, Jesus can come into
our lives and do for us what we could never do for ourselves.  Have a good
final few hours of Advent, and a very Merry Christmas!

(c)MMIX Fr. Pat Umberger.  This Spiritual Reflection is found each week at
the Web Site www.frpat.com. Feel free to link to this page or reproduce
them for parish use as long as this credit remains.

Keep me in your prayers and know you're remembered in mine as well.  May
God continue to bless you and those you love, and keep you safe!

Father Pat

      "Be still and know that I am God."  ~Psalm 46:10




__________________________________________________
<TW>This Weekend is free, and comes from:
Father Pat Umberger, a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse
in Wisconsin U.S.A.
Web Site: www.frpat.com   
Evangelization (reaching out): www.cmonback.com  

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