The
Bishop's Notebook Archive
Advent
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The
Bishop's Notebook, USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
December 7, 2003
“......St.
George's parish out here was eager for me to participate in
the December 7th observance and, frankly, who wouldn't want
to go to Hawaii ahead of the first blizzard of the winter?
But I couldn't quite catch the significance of this particular
anniversary—it was 62 years ago, on a soft morning with
trade winds, when attack planes swarmed down on this base—until
later at the USS Arizona Memorial with my old friend Fr. John
Millen.”
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Bishop's
Notebook, 6 December 2002, Feast of St. Nicholas
“Down through the ages we have inherited a manner of
writing letters among the Faithful. In place of "Sincerely
yours", some aspect of the Christian calendar might be
used. You may have received such a message-or written one-for
example, with "Yours, anticipating Easter's dawn"
over a signature during the waning days of Lent.....
Yet, deep into Advent I'm still not sure of an appropriate
ending to a letter or message. Does one sign off with "Advent
blessings", or, "Faithfully yours until Our Lord
returns?" ....”
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Bishop's
Notebook, 14 December 2001, St. John of the Cross, Day 95
of the 100 Days
“The season of Advent is the great teacher
about waiting. We wait for a result in the search for Osama
bin Laden; we wait for the results of a promotion board, or,
the location of a next assignment; in healthcare and prisons
waiting is a standard for healing and understanding passing
days.”
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Bishop's Notebook, 30 November
2001, St. Andrew, The Apostle, Day 81 of the 100 Days
“And so we arrive at Advent, a season which
distinguishes Christmas. I got into a bewildering conversation
with a youngster recently about the wisdom of waiting for
Christmas. She advocated that Christmas everyday was a far
better plan. And this waiting stuff? It just got in the way
of the enjoyment.”
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Bishop's
Notebook, 21 December, St. Thomas
“I always thought that this Saint's Day, coming as it
does in the homestretch of Advent, was a dose of reality that
would please Thomas and maybe even vindicate his skepticism.
About now the "Christmas Spirit" is either keeping you in
sugar plums or more than you can bear....Year-by-year the
Christmas moments that seem to last are the ones you don't
plan on and the kind of impromptu crises Thomas would understand.”
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Bishop's
Notebook, 15 December
“Lou Scales says of his days in the Army, "They
were special and wonderful, but I was ready for something
else." If you know Lou he is the perpetual optimist and he
did retire as an O-6! But there is something else at work
here. He viewed his life as having set stages and that part
the life task of the latest one--his final assignment in military-was
to set up the next stage. This is why I have been counseling
persons who have had a parish call suddenly fall into their
laps to slow down, be patient, and wait.......That is certainly
good Advent advice.”
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Bishop's
Notebook , 8 December
“......Appropriately, as you can imagine, plenary worship
for a group observing Ramadan, Kwanza, Christmas, and Chanukah
is a delicate exercise. Despite the hyper-ecumenical atmosphere,
I heard the word "Advent" used often. I thought that was curious
considering it is so absent in secular society. The prior
weekend my family and I ate on post where in a display Santa
seemed to be delivering presents to the Holy Family.......As
members of a liturgical church, our chaplains have a unique
opportunity during these weeks to bring a new focus to chapel
communities. Oh, how much we need a Savior! It is hard to
hold the line on Christmas fare in worship and fellowship
but we should try. ”
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Office
of the Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies