Crazy Busy

As most people gear down for Christmas holidays, this week quite the opposite has been going on in church life. My days have been packed full of meetings, school Masses, class visits to the church, planning for our Christmas liturgies, socials galore, multiple celebrations of sacraments and trying to get everything done for several events that will occur immediately after I get back from my brief Christmas break.

My Reconciliation kids celebrated the sacrament earlier in the week and all had a good experience. Some are graduating to my First Communion classes in the new year; some have already completed that sacrament and I will see them again at Confirmation.

Things have also been rough around the office thanks to the economical times in which we find ourselves. We received notification from higher up that raises for next year have been revoked, and one of our staff has decided to leave us.

So after all of that craziness of the past week I am glad not to be there today. Instead, I am running some errands, visiting a good friend whose daughter recently received a difficult diagnosis, and attending a diocesan party which will be preceded by a much needed Christmas haircut. I also want to get some groceries in because of some fierce weather they are predicting for us over the weekend.

And somewhere in there, I'd like to try to remind myself that it is still Advent, and amid all of the chaos around me, I have had very little thought for such interior preparations that I need to start making in this final week leading up to Christmas.