Come Lord...

Today's words of wisdom come to us from Brother Ray Bulliard, the principal of St. Paul's Boys' Catholic School down the road from us in Covington, Louisiana. Brother Ray writes a weekly newsletter for students and families that is legendary around here... many friends tell me they get up at the crack of dawn every Sunday, brew a cup of coffee and sit down at their computer to soak in the message which has magically arrived overnight. Having recently started reading them myself, I can see what the fuss is about. His words of Advent greeting this week are simple and beautiful.

Let me begin by wishing you Happy New Year! We begin the month of December celebrating the season of Advent – which is the beginning of the new Catholic Church year -- a time of waiting. Advent commemorates the centuries of our awaiting the Messiah. Catholic families put out Advent wreaths, the priest wears purple vestments, and Jessie trees spring up – all to remind us of the season of waiting for the "fullness of time."

I like Advent. I know I’m in the minority here, but I find it a very human season. I know, too, that our students don't like Advent because they don't like the concept of waiting. They routinely grumble about waiting in the cafeteria line, about how far away a particular event is that they are looking forward to, etc. Somehow, in our instant gratification society that emphasizes getting what you want as quickly as possible, patience is no longer promoted as a virtue. In a world where we upgrade to faster computers, buy faster Internet access, text and tweet instead of talk, deliver overnight, buy faster cars, patronize establishments that offer "lunch in ten minutes or it's free" and emphasize that time is money, our students no longer know how to wait. And yet think about how much time we do spend waiting: in store lines, in traffic jams, for the check that's in the mail, for a happy time to occur or a difficult time to end.

Think about your child and how much time you have spent and continue to spend waiting for him: to be born, to learn to talk, to take his first step, to develop his talents, in the car pool line, to come home from a date, to see the importance of grades, to learn to appreciate family and life, to mature.

Advent teaches us to turn times of waiting into times of grace. At the beginning of Advent, at Tuesday’s assembly, I will remind the students of one of the oldest prayers in the Church. It consists of just one word: Maranatha, which is Aramaic for "Come, Lord.” If we can fill our time of waiting with God's presence, then the whole concept of patience will take on a new and more fulfilling meaning. What a wonderful way to fill periods of waiting! Use it as a greeting, too. Your spirits will be renewed and your time of waiting will be filled with blessing.