2016 Advent

This is the longest possible Advent: 4 full weeks before Christmas.  In the midst of watching this country elect a cruel millionare to president and then seeing him choose a cabinet that I have no respect for my fear of the state of this country is high.  Everyone I know who voted for Donald Trump did it because of the hope for a supreme court nomination that would overturn Roe vs. Wade.  I have little doubt that abortion frequency will go up under Trump (unless it become illegal which will make counting abortions harder).

So in the midst of this I am feeling a lot of hopelessness about the state of the world.  I am, however, very consoled when I consider the chaotic world that Jesus was born in.  His religious community was occupied by Romans. Church leadership was in cahoots with political leadership.  Corruption was high. Problems were everywhere. The poor were ignored.  As a Christian it is powerful to remember that.

This week I was also walking to work and looked up and noticed all the windows on these 4 buildings.  None of them is especially remarkable except that it made think about how much light we are always trying to let in.  We would prefer to give up good insulation for light.  Windows are quite impractical but we want light in our spaces so much...  tis the season of light.

I sacristaned (and acolyted) at daily mass once this week.  It was not an especially good mass. The homily was bad and there was not even a bit of singing but I do love the comforting ritual of mass.  Daily mass especially has a place in my progressive Catholic heart.  

We have had cold weather (I know it is much colder everywhere else). Unusually we had some snow.  This is my favorite picture of last weeks snow.

And this picture.  Miriam took it.  It is not very good.  In fact my hair is a mess, my eye looks swollen. But something about this picture is so so real.  This is the stuff of my life.  The messy hair. The grumpy baby. The 4 year old screwing around with my phone.  This is the real life that I think God tries to be present to us in...The mess.