At the close of the calendar year, our perception of time changes. We enter into the Advent season marked by darkness and light, waning and hopefulness. Feasts centering or featuring Mary's unique roles in history abound: Immaculate Conception (8), Our Lady of Guadalupe (12), Christmas (25), the Holy Family (31).

As Advent begins, moments of inner preparation are important. Give yourself enough undistracted time to focus on how these Advent readings speak to your heart.

Someone ought to find out what time is made of and get a patent on the stuff. Think of the possibilities!

As a newly ordained deacon, I arrived on July 1 for my internship at an inner-city parish with a sprawling rectory housing three priests, a beautiful gothic church, and a 1950s window and steel school building.

A lot of people report having dreams where they show up at a high school or college class for the first time all semester only to find out it’s time for their final exam.

One of modern American life’s rites of passage is the moment when a teenager is issued a driver’s license. For the teen it becomes the ultimate symbol of freedom, of having grown up, of independence from the family.

As we enter Advent, we are mindful of our need to repent and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. Let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

Advent increases our hope. A hope which does not disappoint. The Lord never lets us down.