December 2008
Justice and Peace Reflection for Advent 2008

By Bro. Steve Herro, O. Praem.

Earlier this Advent, I received an email from a trusted source, “Excellent, short piece. Perhaps you've seen before, but still good! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU&eurl=http://www.adventconspiracy.org/” The email was sent from a parish staff member who oversees her church’s liturgical and outreach ministries.

We all get emails that we just delete, but for some reason, I took a look at this video. I was not disappointed. I was so moved, that I passed it onto my mom and invited her to forward it to the family email list (while not revealing where she got it from).

Advent Conspiracy is a simple movement to inspire people to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all this Advent and Christmas. How did a birth which occurred in very humble settings and worshipping by shepherds in Luke’s gospel and magi in Matthew’s gospel evolve into today’s celebration of Christmas?

The Advent Conspiracy “youtube” reminds us that Americans spend $450 billion on Christmas every year. By the way, the estimated cost of providing clean water (unclean water is the leading killer of humans today) for those suffering from this crisis is $10 billion.

How will we celebrate this Christmas with each other? Can we measure the value of that trinket/gadget, piece of clothing which might just find itself stored for most of the year, or book/CD/DVD that would have to fight for space on an overcrowded shelf? Jesus celebrated with his community by giving of himself relationally and in time, space, and presence. So, in order to follow Jesus more closely, wouldn’t a personal visit or home made gift be more appropriate than another material offering? We can spend less and give more by forgoing that unnecessary material purchase and investing instead in a time commitment to our loved ones. We can more effectively love all by sharing with a wider community in need, whether it is an individual or family trying to get life back together after a natural disaster, a village lacking clean water, or a school system lacking adequate school supplies. If you are looking for some suggestions for alternative gifting to help you love all, see U.S. Catholic’s article available at http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2008/11/bring-fair-trade-and-alternative-shopping-home-holidays. And what about the suggestion to worship fully? Maybe the Advent and Christmas readings will be more meaningful to us this season if we follow the advice of a few of my Norbertine confreres: read the Mass scriptures (including the sections immediately before and after the prescribed texts) ahead of time and arrive in church earlier to center oneself for the worship in which you are preparing to embark.
( This can also counteract the December rush that many of us loathe!)

By the way, if you are wondering how my family responded to my mom sharing the Advent Conspiracy “youtube” on the family email list, the most unexpected family member stated, “This is actually very well done!”.