However, a stroll through our local mall will reveal that we catechists are out of step with the real world. Shops are buzzing with holiday decorations, and the consumer world is ready to sell us our hearts’ desires. It is all about making money in that world, while sacred time calls us to stop for a moment and examine for what we yearn.

These ordinary days of Church time are spinning to a close with the celebration of the feast of Christ the King as we put to bed another liturgical year. Ahead lies the birth of Advent winds that will blow through December and stop abruptly on December 25 as we sing, “all is calm.” Yet, all will not be calm unless we put our hearts and souls into preparing for the feast. We can take a lesson from our secular marketing partners. It is time to begin to imagine a plan for Advent and Christmas based not on what we can buy in stores filled with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations, but based on the desires of the soul. In fact, to see more clearly the challenges of keeping a non-commercial Advent and Christmas, we need to pause right now and look at what we value in the way we proclaim the time of Advent and Christmas. Then, we need to put those pieces together to create our own sacred version of “Hallowthanksmas.”

First, try to preserve your own soul with a little extra quiet time. As the days become more and more hectic, we need to increase the amount of time we spend in silence and prayer. Catechists set the mood in the classroom. If we appear overwrought with our to-do list, the children respond to that energy. The grace of sacred space in our homes and classrooms requires the investment of time spent with our God. To that end, I recommend a wonderful book, Dawn of the Messiah by Edward Sri. This book brings the mystery of Christ’s birth into focus with a mix of Catholic theology, spirituality and catechesis. You will find yourself well-fortified to teach these mysteries after a prayerful reading of Sri’s lessons. The best medicine to calm your frazzled Advent nerves is time with this thoughtful book and a steaming cup of your favorite winter brew.

Second, we should put the emphasis on the rituals and symbols of the Advent season. We can count the days of Advent with calendars and wreaths. We can remind ourselves that it is Advent by the wearing of purple. A purple tie or blouse will be a surprising contrast to the big red sweater your neighbor is sporting. We can make special plans to attend the parish Advent Reconciliation service instead of a premature Christmas party. And don’t forget the wonderful saints of Advent: St. Nicholas, St. Lucy and Our Lady of Guadalupe, each with a special wisdom to offer our Advent souls. For more ideas to bring Advent to life for family and classroom, my book, Holy Bells and Wonderful Smells, offers an almanac of day-by-day inspirations.

Finally, we need to lower our expectations. In order to keep Advent and Christmas in a sacred way we need to reexamine all the demands we put on ourselves. We must ask this question: “How will this activity or event bring me closer to God and support the sacredness of this season?” We simply do not need 12 kinds of Christmas cookies on the tray when one or two can be received in the same spirit. To downsize and simplify the way we keep this holy time will cause the beauty of the ancient message of incarnation to become the real and abiding gift that will remain long after the red and green have faded for another year.

It can be tricky to fit intentional adult faith formation on Advent/Christmas into such a busy season. With Christmas parties for work, neighborhood cookie parties, school Christmas programs, Christmas shopping and decorating thrown on top of our already busy lives, many people can’t even consider “one more thing.” Yet, the message of the season has a lot to say to us busy people about living in time.

The video program An Advent and Christmas Journey With Father Michael Himes addresses how we are people who live in the present, remember the past and look forward to the future. Father Himes says that as people who live in time we are always incomplete. He quotes St. Augustine who wrote, “You made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Father Himes says that even a person who has everything one could ever want would still want more time for enjoying them.

I’ve selected a clip from the first session (Advent I: Hope in the Darkness) of An Advent and Christmas Journey With Father Michael Himes to share with you (Windows Media | RealMedia). This two-disc program offers a 21-29 minute presentation for the four weeks of Advent and one for Christmas:

Invite your parishioners to take a few minutes out of each week of Advent and once during Christmas to reflect on what this season calls us to and how it speaks directly to our lived experience now. Invite them to take a break from the hustle and bustle to nourish their souls and perhaps gain a new perspective on their lives and choices. Schedule 45-minute weekly sessions between two Sunday Masses and while children are in Faith Formation/PSR sessions. Offer the DVD to small faith communities, and challenge them to meet weekly during this time instead of foregoing a regular Christmas party gathering. Use it at weekly pastoral staff meetings for enrichment and shared reflection.

Enjoy these months of fall and the preparation for and celebrations of the holidays. Be intentional about your choices and the focus you take—and invite your parishioners to do the same.

Monsignor Joseph M. Champlin’s new booklet, Daily Reflections for Advent 2007: Prepare Your Heart, is an excellent source of daily inspiration for the Advent season. Priced at just $1.95, this booklet is perfect for pocket or purse, with just the right combination of scriptural reflection and points to ponder to take you through the Advent season. Order enough for all your teachers and catechists, or order enough for the entire assembly.

Judith Dunlap’s latest contribution to family scripture sharing, Bringing Home the Gospel: The Year of Matthew, is a great little book to put into the homes of families with children. The “family response” questions and suggestions give parents an opportunity to talk with their children about the rich themes in Matthew’s gospel as it is proclaimed each week in the Sunday liturgy.

Another great new offering from St. Anthony Messenger Press is Breaking Free of the Web: Catholics and Internet Addiction by psychologist Kimberly Young PSY.D., director of the Center for Online Addiction, and counselor Sister Patrice Klausing O.S.F. Combining their clinical and spiritual expertise, the authors of this timely book offer strategies for healing this addiction that are both therapeutically sound and rooted in faith. This is an eye-opening book that offers straightforward advice as well as spiritual exercises and prayers that will guide Internet addicts through the difficult journey to health and balance.