Do You Have A Plan For Advent?

Sunday, December 1, is the First Sunday of Advent. Do you have a plan for yourself and your family? 

THREE Ps

Personal Prayer: 5 Minutes of                        Silence  

 A friend said to me recently as we were listening to Gounod’s Ave Maria, while background talking was going on, “I just dislike it when a beautiful piece of music is being played or sung, and people are talking their way through it. It takes the soul time to quiet down and let the music sink in. There are so many distractions which prevent the music from affecting the soul.” I agreed with her. Beautiful  music has a way of quieting the soul and when the soul is quiet, we can experience the piece of music more fully than when it is disturbed by the many distractions of our everyday environment.

It is the same way with prayer, even more so. Finding five minutes can be very difficult for silent prayer, but the rewards are rich. Learning to settle the soul and wait for the Lord, deepens our relationship with Him immeasurably. "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who who sees in secret will reward you." Matt. 6:6.

This Advent season begin with the first P, silent prayer. Find five minutes for silence, start with one minute if you must, but give the gift of silence to Our Lord. You will not regret it, and I am willing to wager you will start looking for ways to extend the five minutes to ten. Where can you find five minutes for silent prayer?

• Before the rest of the family gets up. 
• Before or after shopping if you are by yourself. You can even visit Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament if a local church is nearby and open.
• After the children have gone to bed, if they are young and you have some time to yourself before you head to bed.
• If your children are older or you have some older ones to watch the younger ones, schedule 5 minutes for prayer. While the children nap or have quiet time may be ideal in many homes.
• Look at your own day, you know better than anyone where you can carve out 5 minutes for silent prayer. If you start, you won't regret it. I promise you.

There is a depth in our prayer life that we can not reach, if we do not  learn to love silence. I am not saying in the world we live in, silence is easy. However, for mothers, for fathers, for those called to guide and form the young,  there are treasures waiting to be given, but they are only given in silence. This Advent begin a deeper participation in the graces of the season by including silent prayer in your plan. 

Tomorrow, the second P