Learning and understanding

OK, I confess, I’ve been watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” again.  It’s one of my Christmas traditions, and I admit that I still get teary eyed at the end.  (I also cheer when the postmen deliver the bags of mail to the courthouse, when the Grinch’s heart grows and when Scrooge dances on Christmas morning.)  I do love Christmas traditions, and especially when they’re shared. I know that there are people who consider this time to be “too commercial” and “fake” and “mushy”; I’m not one of them.  I do, though, resent when Christmas trees start showing up in July, and when seasonal songs are being played in mid-September.  I find that the rhythm of the traditions is as important as the celebration itself.  I still maintain that there are certain foods that one only has at Christmas, that there are things that speak of the season directly.  But I also maintain that it’s possible to keep Christmas the whole year through. When we honour traditions, we connect ourselves with

This is the third week of Advent in the Christian calendar.  (I know, I know, these have taken on a more Christian tone lately. Despair not, for I will not force a conversion on you.)  Anyway, the third Sunday of Advent is referred to as "Gaudete" or "Joyful."  I think that we need to spend a little time thinking about joy. I was asked recently "How do you find happiness?" and I thought that was at once a dreadfully sad concept and a wonderfully profound question. the first thing to remember is that happiness is a choice.  We decide, every day, every moment, whether we will be happy, or angry or disenchanted.  I've seen countless books, films, articles and other pieces of advice that talk about how differently we treat things as adults from when we were children -- and in a way we do.  Because as a child, our ideas, responsibilities and choices were childish.  As we grow, we must put aside childish things and pick up those of adults.  That b

This year, starting on December 8, 2015, Pope Francis has proclaimed to be an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.  Feel free to look up the details on Jubilee Years (every 25) and Extraordinary Jubilee Years (called by the Pope from time to time); I want to talk a bit about mercy. Mercy is one of those virtues that tends to be overlooked.  It’s often seen as being more “weak” than many of its parallels.  Often, when we speak of mercy, it’s in the context of a lenient judgement.  (Followed by a curse for the defense attorney.)  But the requirement for mercy is specific; the Catholic tradition has 14 distinct acts that are identified as “merciful” – 7 corporal (or physical) and 7 spiritual.  Many religions also make reference to acts of mercy (fairly specifically: caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, almsgiving, burying the dead, visiting prisoners, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless.)  Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of m

It’s the first week of Advent, the beginning of a new Church year.  It’s the lead in to one of the biggest holiday shopping sprees of the year. This year, I thought I would explore Advent a bit more closely.  In the Catholic church, the four Sundays before Christmas are the Sundays of Advent.  Each week, we progress closer to the birth of Jesus and we focus on a different part of the start of Jesus’ story.  The first week begins with a reminder to be ever vigilant against sin, and to wait faithfully for the return of the lord.  Waiting is not something we enjoy doing.  We acquire more and more items to reduce the time that we need to wait – microwave frozen breakfast sandwiches, anyone?  I’ve seen an ad for a “breakfast sandwich machine” that promises to make perfect sandwiches in just 5 minutes.  (I’ve timed myself, and it takes me 3 minutes to cook the same sandwich using “normal” kitchen implements.)  We are persuaded that by having more, we can do more, and be faster, so no more