What Should We Do?

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The day after Thanksgiving, “Black Friday,” is the busiest shopping day of the year. Stores open early and therefore many people wake up early to line up at store doors. Crowds rush in, running frantically towards their coveted items. It can be a maddening experience and can even turn violent. Each year, videos inevitably appear on YouTube of people engaging in physical altercations over items that they want to buy.

These fights caught on video are a sad commentary on what Christmas preparations have become to some people. Advent is supposed to be a time of joyful expectation, not a time of madness. At times, we can be overwhelmed by what our culture has turned this time of year into, and we find ourselves asking the same question that the people asked John the Baptist in this Sunday’s gospel: “What should we do?” In other words, how can we keep our spiritual focus?

During Advent, I always like to remind people to avoid the materialism of the season and the mad rush of shopping that ensues; however, I also know that most of us will inevitably get caught up into this rush. We’re going to shop and wrap and bake and cook, because these are important aspects of family preparations for Christmas. So, if we’re going to do these things, what should our spiritual attitude be?

In this Sunday’s second reading, St. Paul tells us to “rejoice!” “[Your] kindness should be known to all,” St. Paul declares. If, during this season, we are to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, then we must also learn to prepare the way of the Lord in the midst of the world. So let’s get practical.

Be patient. How many of us are going to be waiting in lines during the next couple of weeks? Why get aggravated? Why not pray while you’re waiting in line or engage in friendly conversation?

Be kind. How many of us will be tempted to yell at someone in traffic or in the store? How many of us will be tempted to get angry with a sales clerk or a cashier when they make a mistake? Why not be kind?

Be charitable. We’re all buying gifts for our family and friends, but will we forget the poor? Will we forget those who may not receive gifts, those who have no family or no friends? Maybe your family can decide to give one less gift to each other and decide to give to the poor.

The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” During this Advent we ask the Lord, “What should we do?” And he tells us, be my light. Be the light of Christ in a society that continues to forget the reason for the season.

Father Michael Najim is Spiritual Director of Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Providence, as well as Catholic Chaplain at LaSalle Academy, Providence.