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Everyone on the Catholic internet is telling you to slow down this Advent. I’m trying, but it’s hard when there is a lot you are responsible for. I’ve barely sat down at the computer and haven’t even been able to send out links to my November articles, so here they are in December.
The first one about hospitality is perfect for this holiday season, and the other piece is for pastors to understand a bit of homeschool pedagogy. It is precisely to try and slow down and get off the merry-go-round of life that we have chosen this path to begin with.
Crumb-y Hospitality
As we enter the holiday season, I encourage you to contemplate your vision of hospitality. For a God who was born in a stable, He certainly shows us what matters most. Jesus entered our world in a lowly place, communicating that presence matters more than performance, or more than the picturesque.
And yet, somehow, God transformed a feeding-place-turned-cradle into a beautiful image that we put on Christmas cards every year. He can transform our messiness into a work of art, too, when we allow our crumb-y hospitality to be a moment of encounter.
In the busyness of the holidays, don’t forget that presence is more important than presents. Many people are lonely or sad this time of year, and can we invite them into our home and help them feel loved? In the whirl of shopping and picture-perfect parties, we can make room for the imperfect.
Jesus came and took on human flesh to save us, but also to remind us that we are each made in God’s image. Let the reality of the Incarnation reveal to us the dignity of those we encounter in this season. Who can we look around and see, and honor the Christ in them?
Pastors: Homeschoolers are Parishioners, Too
“…In true Catholic education, the person of Christ becomes the hermeneutical key for what is good, true and beautiful. The Catholic faith imbues education with a logical consistency and urgency to form hearts and minds to know and love God.
I may have idealistic visions of parish life, but if the parish exists to support its parishioners, well then, homeschoolers are parishioners, too. Catholic education is for all, no matter where the student’s desk lies.
I believe that the parish should be the center of worship and formation for all its parish families. When the parish is flourishing with reverent worship, numerous opportunities for building community, ongoing formation and growth in a life of prayer, that impacts all families. Homeschool and traditional school families can be joint participants in parish life, supporting and encouraging one another.
If pastors can expand their vision of education, there are also ways that parishes could offer options to homeschoolers…”
May you find some rest this Advent!
Allison
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