Mr. Hammond’s Chapel Reflection Podcast – December 2, 2009 – The Meaning of Advent
Welcome to the Saint Patrick Catholic School chapel reflections podcast. Brought to you by principal Steve Hammond, this week’s reflection meditates on the meaning of Advent:
Today’s Chapel reflection is based on one of the most exciting gospel readings in the New Testament. Why is it exciting? Because it links God’s promise of sending human kind a messiah as expressed by the prophet Isaiah to the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. The themes in this short gospel passage speak to God’s love, God’s faithfulness, God’s unfailing covenant, God’s readiness to forgive and that God will never abandon us. It offers all teachers and parents wonderful discussion points for use with children.
In order to capture the attention of the students, I put this reflection in the form of a “test.” 10 questions! You may come up with some of your own.  Let’s teach our children the power of reflection, prayer and the indescribable love of God brought to us in the person of Jesus. Good luck! I wish each of you a blessed, reflective Advent season.
The 10 Questions
1. Today’s Gospel was written by ___________________.  (Luke)
2. This Gospel reading is used by the Church to introduce the special season of ___________________. (Advent)
3. Advent is the beginning of the Church’s _______________. (New Year)
4. Advent is a time where we get ready for another special holy day in the Church called ________________. (Christmas)
5. As Christians, the Church asks us to reflect upon what it means for Christ to come into the world and what it means to us as individuals. One Advent message is that that God loves us and wants to be with us. In making this point, God called his son Emmanuel. Emmanuel means ___________________. (God is with us)
6. Advent is about God keeping his promise to the Jewish people and to all humankind. A promise that can never be broken is called a _________________________. (covenant)
7. In the Gospel reading, John the Baptist uses the words of a prophet much older than himself. The prophet that John quoted was _______________. (Isaiah)
8. What was the covenant? The covenant of Christ is that God will never abandon us and has sent us Jesus, His son, who shared in our humanity, who loves us unconditionally and with His life, death and resurrection forgives our sins and shows us the way to salvation.
9. In the Gospel reading today, what was the first word that John the Baptist quoted from Isaiah? _______________ (Prepare)
10. What is one way that we can prepare for the coming of Christ? Hint: We already did it at the beginning of our Chapel.
(Ask God for forgiveness of our sins.)
In this great reading from Luke, God is essentially telling us: I am going to show you how much I truly love you. I am, through my son, Jesus, going to live with you, laugh with you, share in your joys and share in your suffering. I am never going to abandon you. I will always care for you and I am always here, ready to forgive you… just for the asking. This is my Christmas present to you.
