Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

“Shave by the Headlights.” Ok, that may seem non-sensical. I hate shaving. When I entered religous life, I was tramatized by the fact that now I had to shave EVERY DAY! I would whine about it, try to not shave, and get called out by my superiors for not shaving. One day in Mexico, the head of our community said to me, “Shave by the Headlights.” Huh? I literally pictured taking my razor and shaving in the early morning hours by the light of our car’s headlights.

He went on to say that when driving it is always much easier to see what is in front of you and just deal with it. Imagine if you tried to drive only by looking behind you, or if you always had to backtrack to catch the turns that you missed. If we take care of unpleasant tasks first thing when they present themselves, they just are no real big deal. It is the agony, whining, and avoidance that make simple tasks a big deal. Or to use another cliche, we can turn mountains into molehills by just shaving by the headlights.

Yes, I have noticed that fashion no longer seems to care if men shave every day, much to my rejoicing! But the ridiculous image of literally taking a razor and shaving in the headlights of my car so stuck with me that I now use it to rally my will and strength to complete some unpleasant tasks.

And one more insight that I discovered at a young age: household chores could be accomplished in a fraction of the time when done willingly and cheerfully! I found that if I did my Saturday morning chores while my parents were at morning Mass, I could be done before they got home and have the rest of the day for play! Yeah, at first they were so shocked that they would let me off with less work required, but the real key was found in freely and generously embracing these duties!

Maybe going to confession is your personal version of shaving or Saturday morning chores. Just letting you know that this week we will have extra Advent confession Mon/Wed/Friday at 11:30 am and 6:30 pm. Lines will definitely be shorter this week. Penances may be smaller too. It is a great week to take care of your soul, in preparation for the coming of our Lord.

pax,

Father John Mosimann

Advent is here! I encourage you to pick up a Magnificat Advent Companion that we set out last week. This is great little devotional. Reminder that the 7 pm Sunday Masses are Candlelight Masses on Dec 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 31st. Yes… that means the 24th will be different, b/c it is Christmas Eve!

Speaking of Christmas Eve, get ready to go to two Masses in those days. Sorry, but there is no ’two-fer’ Mass that covers both days. Details are with the Christmas schedule, but be prepared to go to a Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent, but also one for Christmas! Because Christmas Eve Masses will bump out some of our usual Sunday Masses, we will have extra Masses on Saturday Dec 23rd at Holy Cross Academy… but check out the schedule for details.

Also, this weekend the Marian Antiphon changes to the Alma Redemptoris Mater. I personally found this one the hardest for me to learn, but I think I have it down now. It is only around for Advent and Christmas seasons, so we don’t have as long to learn it.

If you wold like to hear it sung, here is a nice version on youtube (with a shortened link): https://tinyurl.com/464rzknu

Also, I think this translation from Wikepidia captures the meaning:

Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
who remains the accessible Gateway of Heaven, and Star of the Sea,
Give aid to a falling people
that strives to rise;
O Thou who begot thy holy Creator,
while all nature marvelled,
Virgin before and after
receiving that “Ave” from the mouth of Gabriel, have mercy on sinners.

May this Advent season be truly blessed for you and your family.

pax,

Father John Mosimann