Makes My Monday

                                          

The First Sunday in Advent

And we actually got the Advent wreath up and ready to go in the nick of time!  Woohoo!

We also got our first Advent Sunday prayers said and our wreath blessed, even though Daddy (That would be my husband, not my father) had to leave on a business trip.  Which is a bummer. =sigh=  And it wasn't the same, but Mommy (That would be me, not my mother.  Ahem.) pinch hit for him this week. 

Now we just need to get our Christmas Novena printed, posted, and started on the Feast of St. Andrew (Nov 20th) and we're on our way with a good foot forward toward Bethlehem!

Check it out.  William, being the youngest, got the great honor of blowing out the candle this week, the Sunday after his birthday.  Next week it'll be Gabe's turn.  I don't know if you can see it, but right behind the wreath (which, incidentally, has one candle holder that's too short and one white candle that needs to be exchanged for a pink one...) you can just barely see the little crib at the Blessed Mother's feet.  It's waiting to be filled, strand by strand, with bits of straw to make a soft bed for the Baby Jesus on Christmas day.  Everyone is vowing to make sweet Jesus' crib cushy and full.  And the Littles are anxious that we should make him a little blanket, too.  So I guess I'll be working on that here soon.  It's going to have to be something mighty special to be good enough for the Infant Saviour, though -- and I am no seamstress...  We need to send some prayers  up for this intention; I need all the help I can get!  Anyone know who the patron saint of seamstresses is?

Oh, and below you'll find the St. Andrew's Christmas Novena if anyone needs a pretty printable copy.  It's not actually a novena, though, you know.  Technically, a novena is said for nine days, and this one's said for twenty-five...   And we say it 15 times a day, which means that we repeat these beautiful words of petition 375 times between St. Andrew's feast and Christmas!  So, if you haven't got this prayer memorized already, it usually doesn't take long! 

Can you believe it's already Advent?!  It gives me a little thrill of anticipation repeating these words again for the first time this season!  Christmas is coming around again! Already!  Goodness, but time passes so quickly -- but, what the hey...  Jesus is coming!  The world may spin  out of control, but the Liturgical Year rolls around so beautifully, so predictably.  And it's all good.  Really, really good. 

Starting the Christmas Season with all its tradition and spiritual "bookmarks" totally Makes My Monday!

Click to print.

Run over to Cheryl's for lots of Make My Monday posts!