Hi, I'm Edward Sree, and welcome to all things Catholic Catholic where real faith meets real life.

Hi friends welcome back. How is your advent going? This is a good midpoint check in to just see how is

advent going here. Some of you may be thinking, oh, that's going great. This is one of my

best advent's ever. But I bet there's many of you saying, oh, it's just not off to a great start, it's okay.

And some of you thinking, man, I haven't done as much as I really thought I would, and you're kind of feeling badly about it.

Wherever you're at on the spectrum, I'm going to encourage you, it's okay. Right now, there's a few weeks to go. And I want to give you a little quote that has inspired me in my own advent reading that helps me to remember what the season's about and this quote comes

from blessed John Henry Newman and he reminds us about the process of change

that we want to see happening in our hearts because we can focus on oh I gave this

up or I did this prayer and I did these devotions and and that's all good but

the real goal of Advent isn't giving up stuff. It isn't extra prayers and

extra devotions. Those are mere means. Those are means to something greater

God wants to accomplish in our hearts.

And what he wants to accomplish is transformation.

Will we be changed between now and Christmas Day

will we notice just even a little change,

a small change in the way we relate to God, relate to our

spouse, our kids, our friends, our family? Will we notice a little change? What's that change all

about? Listen to what Blessed John Henry Newman says he says we should go

through Advent so that at Christmas Christmas will quote find us more and more like

Jesus who at this time became a little child for our sake?

More will we be more simple-minded, more humble, more affectionate,

more resigned, more full of God?

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