Happy Second Sunday of Advent! Last week I asked our parish families to do some light 'penance' work to prepare our hearts for Christmas, so I hope your Advent penance is off to a good start. If not, there's time to devote ourselves to some small work of prayer, sacrifice, or service to "make straight the way of the Lord" as we bring all those areas of our life into alignment with God's plan.

  Keep in mind that "preparing the way of the Lord" this Advent puts us in touch with the specificity of the Incarnation: God comes to this people at this time and in this place through His Son. May the specificity of God's plan for your life help you overcome all the generalizations of our times. Phrases like "I want to be a better person" or "I want to make the world a better place" are vague and don't really lead to lasting commitment or conversion. They also leave out Jesus, which is never the Christian way! Instead of these, add the holiday spice of specificity into your desires, prayers, and service: "I want to be a saint today!" and "I will serve my family with the heart of Christ!"

   Advent Confession Times
  There are a number of opportunities for confession this Advent season: Advent Communal Penance at St. Gabriel Parish in Concord We are joining with St. Gabriel Parish this Advent Season for a Communal Penance Service, so I invite you to come to this celebration of God's Word and the Sacrament of Confession at St. Gabriel Parish next Monday, December 13 at 7:00 pm. Fr. Spisak and I will be present to hear confessions there along with a number of other priests. I am grateful for our neighboring parishes with whom we can come together for our Sacramental celebrations!

   Advent Confessions at St. Mary's
  Fr. Spisak and I will be available to hear confessions at St. Mary Parish at the following Advent times: Tuesday, December 14 from 10:00 - 11:00 am; Monday, December 20 from 4:00 - 5:00 pm; Tuesday, December 21 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm. Regular Saturday Confessions at 3:00 pm (St. Mary & St. Patrick Parishes)

Heart of a Shepherd Commitment Weekend (Dec 4-5)
  At our Masses this weekend, we will have the opportunity to learn about, pray for, and pledge our support for our diocesan-wide Heart of a Shepherd campaign. This campaign seeks to raise funds to renovate the seminary living spaces, fully fund the priest pension account, and establish a fund to assist newly ordained priests pay off college debt. A good portion of money raised will come back to St. Patrick Parish to support some of our capital improvement needs. I will offer remarks after the homily and lead us through the pledge process. I am so grateful for all the support we've already received from parish families for this campaign, and am excited to invite you to support our seminaries, priests, and the ongoing work of our parish!

  I am praying for you this Advent season. Kindly pray for me as well as we work to make a home for the Lord in our hearts.