Joyful Anticipation!

There's just something about Advent which I love.  I can't believe we only have one more week to go and then- ADVENT!  I guess it's the anticipation of something great to come.  It's the anticipation of Christmas, the birth of Our Lord.  Despite the work entailed in celebrating Christmas (even in the Convent), I still very much look forward to this season.  I figured out that if one prioritizes one's activities and events, the stress associated with the season is minimized, if not done away with.  It used to be that during Advent, letter-writing is not permitted to avoid distractions.  Cards were either sent before Advent starts and mailed later or after Christmas and mailed before New Year.  Now it has changed.  But I try to keep the practice.  I write only to those closest to me and I write them mostly after Christmas.  It might be hard for somebody with bigger families and those who are engaged in busy lifestyles.  But this is one grace of being in the Convent- people don't expect much from us!  Despite all our preoccupations and concerns, let us never lose sight of the mystery of Christmas.  We owe it to ourselves. Let us make a resolution to make this Advent and Christmas be different from previous years.  If there's a will, there is a way.