It's not looking like Advent

Advent has begun. For many years I’ve loved to celebrate this season, a season of hope and waiting.

For many years, I’ve read portions of the Prison Meditations of Father Alfred Delp, a Jesuit killed by the Nazis in 1945. His Advent and Christmas meditations have sustained me for many years. (It's now available as Alfred Delp: Prison Writings.)

I’ve often tried to have an Advent wreath. This year I have the candles, but no greens.

I’ve often had to bundle up for Advent since it was cold in the places where I lived in the US, especially Ames, Iowa. But I also usually had to bundle up here in Honduras since it’s usually rainy and in the 50s – which is cold when you have no heat. My first year here I wondered if I would ever feel warm. Hot showers and a space heater helped a bit. But this year it’s been dry and hot, more like March and April than December. Don’t tell me climate change is not happening.

In the last few years we’ve had the rite of welcome of the candidates for the catechumenate on the first Sunday of Advent.

This year we welcomed 43 into the catechumenate, mostly young people between 14 and 20.

I don’t have any pictures of the first Sunday of Advent because I was busy. I had to arrange all the details for the rite and then, when the church secretary couldn’t come, I had to arrange for someone to help with the signing-in of the candidates.

The pastor asked me to bless the Advent wreath and then, as we sat down to listen to the readings, he asked me if I had a homily prepared. Yes, I told him and so I preached.

Then I led the catechumens out for a short reflection on the rite after the prayer of the faithful.

After all this, since I wanted to attend a complete Mass, I accompanied the pastor to Mass in San Agustín, where I also blessed the Advent wreath and preached.

After Mass, he went to visit the sick. The communion minister in San Agustin, a young man from the parish, and I accompanied him.

In the first house we visited a woman whom I had visited several times. In fact, she remembered me and had wondered why I hadn’t come recently. She is much worse than when I last saw here in the beginning of October.

Then we went to the house of a 93 year-old, former delegate of the word, who was being cared for by his wife of 67 years, who was in her eighties. Though he was confined to bed, he was very alert and proceeded to joke with father. When we prayed, he prayed aloud, and when we sang, he sang. He received the anointing of the sick and both he and his wife received communion.

What a great way to begin Advent – even though it’s not feeling a lot like Christmas.