Join us Dec. 12 to celebrate Christmas

Advent is a time of joyful anticipation and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas. Because of the winter break, though, we won’t be able to celebrate together.

So the Catholic Community is doing the next best thing: celebrating early.

I hope you can join us after 5 o’clock Mass this Saturday, Dec. 12 in the Chapel library for good cheer and good fun – and good food to whet your appetite for dinner at Harris.

I hope you can also be with us this afternoon, Tuesday, for Mass at 5 in the Chapel, celebrating the Holyday of the Immaculate Conception.

Advent and Christmas are about so much more than Jesus’ birth. Theologically, this season is a celebration of the incarnation – of God becoming flesh in Christ. That is the source of the hope we celebrate in the next few weeks. If you’re looking for more inspiration or more about the meaning of the season, visit our Web site at www.conncatholics.com. You might also find inspiration at Christmas Vespers: A Service of Lessons and Carols, Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 4:30 p.m. in the Chapel.

This can be a stressful time for many students. Our culture informs us at every turn that this is the season to be joyful, but often fails – intentionally – to remind us of the real reason for the joy. It can seem like a very hollow time. On top of that, papers are due, exams are coming up and we’ll all soon be separated from friends whose company we’ve come to truly enjoy.

If you would like to talk, please stop by my office in the Chapel basement or stop me if you see me in Harris, the library or walking across campus. I’m here Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and evenings; I’m always available after 5 o’clock Mass on Saturday. Our last liturgy of the year will be Dec. 19, on the second day of exams. You can also reach me by phone at 860-423-0856 or e-mail.

I hope to see you around campus, perhaps in the library, before you leave, but, if not, you will be in my prayers and in the prayers of the Catholic Community during the next few weeks. I wish you a joyful Christmas and all of God’s blessings for 2010.

Devotedly yours,

Father Larry