I remember how the crowds rejoiced and cheered when the helicopter carrying St. John Paul II approached the stadium. Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration. It was World Youth Day in Denver in 1993, and Mile High Stadium was overflowing with young people. Suddenly, on the far side of the stadium, the pope’s helicopter appeared and the crowd roared with rejoicing.  But we still had to wait a little time until the Pope actually appeared in the stadium. That’s what the Third Sunday of Advent is like. We call it “Gaudete Sunday” because we rejoice that Christ is about to be here. But we still have to wait a week or so. That final week of preparation is really important:  we still have time to go to Confession, to put up the Christmas decorations, to give alms to the poor, or help decorate your Church. Christmas day will soon be here.  Jesus Christ is coming.  How will you prepare?

Do you know what a manger is? Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration. When Christ was born, he was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. But what is a manger? A manger is a wooden implement you’d find in a barn where hay is placed so the cows can eat it. The word “manger” is closely related to the Italian verb “to eat”, mangiare. That Jesus Christ was placed in a manger is a foreshadowing that one day we would actually eat Jesus Christ. And that is what we do whenever we receive Holy Communion: we eat the Body and Blood of Christ. Now, we’re not cannibals. To understand this, think of the young mother holding her tender child and kissing the child saying, “Oh, I love you so much I could just eat you up.” Well, that’s what we do with Jesus Christ. Remember to be well prepared when you receive Holy Communion. You should be in a state of grace, having kept the one hour fast from food and beverage, and be a practicing Catholic.

What do you call it?  The Nativity scene?  The manger? Or the crèche? Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration. No matter what you call it, you have to have one inside the house and outdoors on your front lawn to remind all passersby what Christmas is all about. When you go to your Church on Christmas day, you will most likely see a magnificent Nativity scene with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, a cow, an ox, a donkey, a sheep, some shepherds, angels and even Wise Men. In Italy, the churches compete to see who can create the most magnificent Nativity scene, and some are quite elaborate. Yes, it takes time to unpack the pieces and put it up, but all the while your imagination and your heart enter into the scene and you wonder what it must have been like in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago when the Christ child was born. We would always leave the manger empty, until Christmas Eve, and then we would put the Christ Child there.

How do we know Jesus was born on December 25th? Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration. Everyone knows that Christ was born on Christmas Day, December 25th, but how do we know that? That’s an important and fascinating question, and I’ve spent the past twenty years searching for the answer, reading just about everything on the subject. We know for sure that Mary and Joseph knew the day Jesus was born because they were there. I am sure they told Jesus the day he was born just as our parents told us, and the Apostles would have learned that from Mary or Jesus or both. But the first time December 25th shows up in any written record is 350 AD, so either written records were lost for 300 years, or that important information was passed on by word of mouth by the early Christians. It is also very fitting that Jesus Christ was born on the day the Ancient Romans regarded as the Winter Solstice (although by that time the calendar was off by four days) because with the Winter Solstice the days start getting longer and more light comes into the world.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches! Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration. Everyone loves a Christmas tree, and no two trees are the same. Growing up in my family we would put up the tree around December 13, the Feast of Santa Lucia and the ancient festival of lights. Sometimes we’d go and cut it down, other times we’d go with our father and buy it from the local Boy Scout Troop, and we’d get extra greens for the nativity scenes both inside and out. We’d get the best one we could find and tall enough to reach the ceiling. The Christmas tree tradition started in northern Europe but is now universal. It’s always some type of evergreen tree, symbolic of the new and eternal life of the Christ child. The lights on the tree represent the light and hope of Christ; the ornaments represent the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit found in the soul united to Christ, and the star on top of the tree represents the Star of David that led the Three Kings from the East to Bethlehem.

Do you have a favorite Christmas carol? Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration. There must be hundreds of Christmas carols, from many countries and in many languages. St. Josemaría’s favorite is in Spanish, and it’s based on a beautiful medieval tradition of providing shelter for the homeless at Christmastime. It’s called “Madre en la puerta hay un niño” which means “Mom, there’s a kid at the door.” A little boy, more beautiful than the shining sun, knocks on the door and says he’s freezing cold because he’s dressed in rags. The mother says, “Let him in and he can warm up by the fire place, because these days there’s no more love in the world.” The mother asks him where he’s from, and he says, “Well, my father’s from heaven and so is my mother, and I’ve come down to earth to suffer!” It turns out, he is the Christ Child! When we provide shelter for the homeless, we are providing a home for Jesus Christ himself.

Somebody asked me, “Father, what’s your favorite Christmas cookie?” Hmmm … what’s my favorite Christmas cookie? Now, that’s a hard one because there’s so many to choose from. And the very thought of it reminds me of the kitchen in the home I grew up in with my mother wearing an apron and putting tin tray after tin tray of Christmas cookies into the oven. And that rich, sweet smell was all over the house – especially upstairs because heat rises! She started baking those cookies on December 6, the Feast of St. Nicholas, and kept at it until Christmas Eve. But by the time Christmas Day arrived, they were all gone. The 8 Hoffman children had eaten them all! I suppose we should have called them “Advent Cookies” because they didn’t make it to Christmas. So what’s my favorite Christmas cookie?  The one I just ate. I wonder what Fr. Simon’s favorite Christmas cookie is? And what’s yours?

Jolly Old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way! Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration. December 6th is the Feast of St. Nicholas. You know who he is, don’t you? That’s St. Nicholas of Bari, a small town on the Adriatic Coast of Italy. Some of his relics are in a Church there, but he served as a Bishop in Armenia and was very generous with the poor, secretly giving away money and food for the needy, and most people never knew where it came from. Today we call him Santa Claus, and when we are generous with the poor, we are really living the Christmas spirit. When I was a kid, we left our shoes outside our bedroom before we went to bed the night before St. Nicholas Day and when we awoke, we’d find our shoes stuffed with goodies, including chocolate marshmallows, Hershey Kisses, and a yo-yo.  We knew it wasn’t Christmas yet, but this was a warm-up to the actual day, and we just couldn’t wait. One year, when we woke up on St. Nicholas Day, we looked outside and it had snowed five inches the night before.  It was the first snow of the season and we were really excited!

What’s the best Christmas gift you ever got? I’m a very lucky guy, and I have received many wonderful Christmas gifts over the years, but the ones that brought me the most joy weren’t the ones I got, but the ones I gave. I think you know what I mean. Think about it for a moment. Is there someone in your life – a relative, a parent, a brother, a sister, a child, a neighbor, a co-worker, a spouse – who is missing you? Who is lonely? Can you call them? Can you visit them? Can you send them a Christmas card? Can you forgive them? Can you overcome your fear, stop grinding the axe and bury the hatchet? Just remember those golden words, “For it is in giving that we receive.” This Christmas, go ahead and splurge and give of your time, your heart, and your affection, just like Jesus did when he came to earth to save us from our sins and to save us from ourselves 2,000 years ago. And you will have a very Merry Christmas!

Send a Christmas card, get a Christmas card. Or is it the other way around? Get a Christmas card, send a Christmas card? Everyone loves to get a Christmas card, especially these days when so much communication is electronic. But a real card, in your own handwriting, with a stamp you licked yourself, and a short message of affection can bring so much joy to folks who might otherwise feel forgotten at Christmastime. Well, that’s a real Christian thing to do. Personally, I like all Christmas cards. But my favorites, I have to admit, say “Merry Christmas” on the inside and have some reference to the birth of Christ. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Frosty, Rudolph, Suzie, and Donner and Blitzen, but they didn’t save the world or die on a cross for you and me. Remember, if you’re not ashamed of Jesus, He won’t be ashamed of you either!

How many Christmas ornaments can you put on a tree? The number of Christmas ornaments you can put on a tree is directly proportional to the size of the tree, the number of the branches, the size of the ornaments, the time you have available, and your determination. If you’ve been paying attention, that’s a five-variable formula, so the possibilities are huge. It also depends on how many ornaments you have. Personally, I like all of the ornaments, and the tinsel, and the garlands, and the lights, and the candy canes. But the ornaments I like best commemorate some great occasion. Like Billy and Kerry’s wedding in 2008, or the year the Cubs won the World Series, or the Canonization of St. John Paul II, or the one my sister made by hand when she was a child, or the one of the manger in Bethlehem made out of olive wood that I bought in the Holy Land one Christmas.

Have you noticed that the seasons of Advent and Lent have something in common? That’s right, Advent and Lent have something in common. Both are seasons of spiritual preparation for a big event: Advent prepares us for the birth of Christ on Christmas, and Lent prepares us for the Death and Resurrection of Christ on Easter. Just like if you run a marathon, you have to get in shape weeks before, we have to get in shape spiritually for these two momentous feast days. It’s not yet the time for celebration; it’s a time of preparation. That’s why the vestments used at Mass during Advent and Lent are violet in color, and not white; that’s why we don’t sing or recite the Gloria at Mass during Advent and Lent, and the music in the liturgy is sober and simple, and altars are not decorated with flowers, and everyone is encouraged to fast and go to Confession and do some penance in preparation for Christmas.   

How many candles are on an Advent Wreath? There are four candles on an Advent Wreath, one for each Sunday in Advent.  Usually three of the candles are purple and one is rose, and that’s the one for the Third Week of Advent, known as “Gaudete Sunday” - which is the Latin word for "rejoice." On the Third Sunday of Advent, the priest can wear rose-colored vestments at Mass. Growing up in my family, we placed the Advent Wreath on the dining room table and would light the candles during dinner each evening. By the time we reached the fourth week of Advent and all four candles were glowing, we knew Christmas was almost here! The evergreen leaves that make up the wreath symbolize eternal life by sanctifying grace, and the light of the candles represents the light of Christ Who brings hope to all who approach Him. On Christmas Day a fifth candle, a large white one, can be placed in the center and burns brightly during the entire Christmas Octave, and that’s why we call it the Christ light.

If you want to have a very Merry Christmas, it starts right now by making it a great Advent! St. John the Baptist prepared people for the coming of Christ by calling them to conversion and repentance. Christ is coming again, this year on Christmas Day.  So if you want to have a very Merry Christmas, it begins right now in Advent with personal conversion and repentance. If you go to Confession before Christmas – and make it a really good Confession by not hiding any sins and being truly sorry – then you will have a very Merry Christmas because the Sacrament of Confession is the Sacrament of Joy. I know it from personal experience. There is nothing better in the world than to be in the state of grace! If you need any help going to Confession, just go to the Relevant Radio® App, and you’ll find the Confession Helper under the drop-down menu on the right side. And if you can’t remember any of your sins, just ask the people you live or work with, and they’ll tell you. I pray that you have a blessed Advent. Thanks for joining us on this journey.