Don't prepare for 'Christmas'. Prepare for the Feast of The Nativty of Our Lord!

In our modern, secular society, preparing to celebrate the great feasts of the Church requires great effort. We fit our Spiritual efforts around our daily commitments, rather than the other way round. Our worldly obligations, in practice, take precedence over those which feed our souls. These are so often left ’for another day‘. And unless we make a conscious effort, our focus always remains in the here and now and never on the eternal.

Yet the Church has always offered us ways to help us prepare to celebrate any Feast day, and even more especially the great Feasts of Christmas and Easter: fasting, prayer, and giving.

Fasting: making room for God.

Fasting provides us with the opportunity to "empty" our bodies and minds of worldly things, in order to more completely fill ourselves with the Word and the Spirit. The process starts with food - not our essential food, but all those many extras and ’treats’ with which we so regularly indulge ourselves.

We are now in the first week of Advent, which was often in the past called the ‘Little Lent’. Advent is a penitential period of preparation for the coming of the Christ Child into our hearts and lives. Are we ready? Or do we expect to treat December purely as a time to ‘buy for Christmas’, assuming that we should receive all the spiritual blessings of this great feast, without making any effort - or offering a gift in return. How easy it is for us to lapse into unthinking greediness, and to teach our children indifference and worldliness, simply by our thoughtless carelessness.

Let us try to make an effort this Advent to prepare properly, in advance, to bring the gift of ourselves to the Christmas manger, to make a journey of desire with the shepherds and the Three Holy Kings, so that on Christmas night we may greet the newborn Christ without shame.

Here are some ideas to consider:

* Reduce the amount of food you do eat. Cut out "second helpings" and snacks. Never allow yourself to feel overfull.
* Keep your food simple. Spend less time planning menus, cooking, serving, and eating.
* Cut back on TV, radio, the computer etc. Reduce the endless noise that permeates our daily lives. Try to spend at least a little time in quiet prayer or meditation. If it is helpful and you want to listen to something, play recorded liturgical music.
* Reduce your entertainment hours. Cut out movies, video games, surfing the internet, and junk reading, and use the time for more spiritually-enriching activities.
* Add something new, however small, to your daily prayer routine. If you normally ask God's blessing only before meals, add a prayer of thanksgiving after meals, too. If you normally say "bedtime" prayers, add the morning prayers. Pray more. Make a "family altar" as the place for prayer, or place an icon or religious picture on the kitchen table.
* If you have the time, read the Epistle and Gospel for each day at the dinner table, or quietly by yourself.
Make a family prayer list of those you will remember each day - both the living and the dead, and include relatives, benefactors, teachers, co-workers, friends, and anyone you know who is currently suffering. For younger children consider making a "picture" list, so that they can see the people for whom they are praying.
* Replace the novels, magazines etc. with some spiritual reading.
* Try and attend one extra Mass during the week.
* Say one (extra) Rosary during the week.
* Consider beginning or renewing a family or personal commitment to some long-term "giving" project that uses you talents and time as Christ directs us - to help feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, or comfort those in despair (see Matthew 25:34-46)
* Don’t pre-celebrate the Feast! If you intend to put up decorations: a Christmas tree, lights and greenery, don't put them up too early. Wait until the eve of the feast, when the Church is also anticipating its celebration.
* Celebrate the full Christmas season with the Church. The season lasts for twelve days after Christmas Day, and finishes on the Feast of the Epiphany. Resist the desire to clear everything away on New Years Day!