Blessed First Sunday of Advent to all - Believer or Skeptic, Seeker or Lost, Curious or Bored, Pilgrims or Wanderers - Blessed Advent!
Blessed First Sunday of Advent to all who celebrate and mark this season of preparation for both the End Times (it can't come soon enough) and the Incarnation of the Word. While I often whimsically hope for Meteor 2024 to end the mess that is this current chapter of humanity and its stupidity, I do pray for the end of things as we know it. Every Disciple of the Master is longing for the day of His return and the fulfillment of this reality as we know it.
The 2nd Coming is the daily prayer of the church, MARANATHA! Come, Lord Jesus! While it is a day of trepidation for the unrepentant and self-absorbed; it is a day of joyful anticipation for those seeking the Living Truth, a day of unfailing hope for those who seek the Eternal Good, a day of unmarred consolation for those seeking the Overwhelming Beauty. We are preparing to say to the Luminous and Mysterious & His Word, THY WILL BE DONE, or the Holy One is preparing to say to us, they will be done. The later is the worst thing that could possibility happen to us. Our will has often been the most misguided and self-threatening part of the mystery of our person. That we have survived the days of bad judgment, mindless pursuit and arrogant assumptions is nothing short of miraculous. If we have learned from them, that at least is drawing some silver & gold out of the dross of experience.
It used to be after Thanksgiving that we got serious about Christmas, but now it seems to come earlier and earlier. Halloween barely gets by before it is pushed out of the way. The Christ-Mass is just another means for more materialism rather than personal growth and making a gift of yourself. Celebrating Christmas is great. Sharing gifts, especially with children, is a great expression and lesson in the joy of giving. In addition to making our list of Christmas presents, there are questions we might ask of our self. How can I make myself a better gift to you, how can I make our relationship a better gift in our shared life? What is one thing I can try to intentionally change to making the living with me better for you? The things of life are passing, the persons of life are enduring and their impact can be life long and life altering. In our preachy world of puritanically groupthink and irrational herd-feel many more are prone to want to deliver a list of demands for improvements of others with little self-awareness of how they need to grow and change for the better. It has made our society more bitter & divided than ever. Introspection often melts before the constant march of the woke jihad, but it is not unstoppable. There is a foundation that pushes back and a resistance that does not yield. There are always signs of hope and Advent is a season of hope.
Happy Sunday ADD Irregulars, WSN Curators, Friends & Refugees, Phamily & Misfits! I pray you have a blessed day my dear digital neighbors.
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
Happy Friday, Digital Neighbors!! Slept in a little this morning. Woke up at my ordinary time, hit the hour timer, and wandered back into short, incoherent dreamland. It was a good hour to try and get a little more rest after a long day yesterday. We had a good staff team-building day with personal prayer and then looking at the DISC tool as a way to appreciate our gifts as we work together for the good of our parish family.
Had a meeting in the evening to explore using our auditorium for an Emergency Overnight Shelter in the winter for the homeless and unhoused in our local area. Lots of potential, lots of work if that is to come to fruition. As I mentioned last night, this is where the rubber hits the road on personal charity. People feel comfortable giving money to support charities, but the possibility of hosting and staffing one is way out of the comfort zone for most. Prayer and time will tell.
Off to some “ifferisms” for your Friday cup of Joe.
If you get gloomy, just take an ...
The Beautiful
Said the Disciple to the Lover, “Sir, before I left the world I heard certain men who were held in high esteem and thought to know the will of the Beloved say that those who loved the Beautiful did not love the Beloved but loved idols, yet in the Garden of the Beloved we are ever striving to create beauty for the pleasure of the Beloved. Were they then speaking the truth?”
The Lover answered, “Those who said this had never glimpsed the form of the Beloved nor ever truly sought Him, for all beauty is but the reflection of the beauty of the Beloved, although seen very dimly as in a dark and faulty mirror, even as all goodness is a dim reflection of the goodness of the Beloved. So it is that those who love beauty and goodness recognize dimly in them the form of the Beloved and though often in ignorance those who are seeking the Beautiful and the Good are seeking after the Beloved.”
