This weekend, Claire made her first reconciliation. It was a beautiful ceremony with a strong message of love and forgiveness. It was hard to leave without feeling like God was there to make room in all our hearts for His good and for Christmas.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this about the Christmas Mystery:
526 To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. (205) For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to become "children of God" we must be "born from above" or "born of God." (206) Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us.(207) Christmas is the mystery of this "marvelous exchange":
O marvelous exchange! Man's Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity. (208)
That line "Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us." stirs my soul. There is so much mystery in the church and it makes me feel so special to think of everything that Christmas is, could be fulfilled in me.
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| Claire and Addison wait anxiously with their peers. She and many other kids decided that Father Andy was worth waiting for to make their first confession. |
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| All smiles afterwards! |
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| Smiling with her love bag - filled with encouraging notes from family. |
This weekend we participated in a Festival of Lights that can usually only be viewed by car, but on this special evening, we were allowed to walk through the lights. I'm going to be honest - I didn't really think this one through...We joined a HUGE crowd of people, in the chill of night, and complete darkness other than the lights. I ended up spending most of the time making sure we didn't lose a child and trying to redirect their pouts of discomfort to the incredible lights. Let's just say that driving through is the way to go.
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| Can you spy the Will in this picture?! |
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| Now where is he? |
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| Santa is checking his list... |
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| Smiles by the ice skaters! |
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| I liked the toy soldiers! |
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| Claire points to this large light display! It's Santa's toy factory! |
The best lights this season will be the light we shine to others!
Speaking of lights and prayers - Grandma Grace, who is a big light in our family, came home from the hospital this week! That was definitely an answer to prayers. Please keep on praying for her recovery.
I hope everyone is having an amazing week!
Speaking of lights and prayers - Grandma Grace, who is a big light in our family, came home from the hospital this week! That was definitely an answer to prayers. Please keep on praying for her recovery.
I hope everyone is having an amazing week!
Love,
Bethie
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