To the Band of Brothers: December 2, 2020
Good morning!
A few years ago, on the first Sunday of Advent, I was celebrating Mass at a local parish when a little girl came up to me and asked why I was dressed like Barney the Dinosaur. She correctly observed my vestments were purple and covered my whole body. Apparently, throughout the Mass, she kept bugging her mother asking why the priest was dressed like her favorite television character. She had noticed that, although the priest was dressed like the celebrity T-Rex she knew and loved, he wasn’t as funny or melodious. The mother, in order to quiet her down, told her she could ask Fr. Barney himself after Mass.
While standing at the entrance of the church shaking hands and kissing babies, the little girl tugged at my chasuble and asked: “Why are you dressed in purple?” “It’s Advent,” I told her, “and the color purple reminds us we have to get ready because Jesus is coming to town.” The story comes to mind because last Sunday we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent and, thus, officially commenced the Christmas season, Catholic-style.
Similar to the Lenten experience, Advent is a time wisely set aside by the Church to prepare for a celebration, in this case, Christmas. Roughly four weeks before December 25th, we begin to light candles on a wreath, wear purple, listen to readings that allude to a very important child, and refrain from singing the “Gloria” at Mass. All these things we do in preparation for the birth of Jesus. Makes sense considering big events require much preparation.
For example, shortly before my little sister Marielena (a.k.a. Tita) was born, I remember how my father and mother prepared for it. They put two of my brothers together in the same room freeing up a room for her, painted the walls pink, put in a crib and stuffed animals, and then waited anxiously for the bundle of joy to arrive.
Or how about this one…
When I was growing up, whenever I was invited to a party, I would invest some time and effort to prepare for it. I had to pick out what pair of Jordache jeans I was going to wear, consider what color Polo shirt went best with it, and decide whether I was going with the collar up or down. I also had to determine if this combination went well with the black Members Only jacket I had, a jacket I insisted on wearing even though it was 96 degrees outside and as humid as a boys’ locker room. I would lay out the clothes on my bed as I went off to take a shower. After, while standing in front of the mirror, I would brush my hair back, then to the side, and then part it down the middle, taking advantage of the hair being wet and manageable. It was really a waste of time because my hair would end up in the same position it had been for 15 years. This whole ordeal was then followed by a little deodorant and a generous splash of Old Spice to seal the deal.
So, if we invest time and effort to prepare for those things, why not for something as important as Jesus? Advent offers us an opportunity to take a break from the customary, secular “holiday” mentality we are bombarded with daily on television and in shopping malls, and reminds us it’s all about Jesus.
Advent helps to emphasize that while things like peace and love are virtues that definitely go well with the birth of Christ, we cannot forget that his presence among us is also an incredible challenge. Jesus’s presence among us changes everything. His presence among us raises the bar. The birth of Jesus was God’s way of saying, “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family.” The birth of Jesus was God’s way of giving the world, “a great big hug and a kiss from me to you.” The birth of Jesus was God’s way of asking, “won’t you say you love me too?”
Hey, that sounded familiar. Maybe the little girl was right, it was Fr. Barney all along.
Auspice Maria
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba, by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit is situated on a 34-acre site in western Dade County, just minutes away from downtown Miami.