Purgatory one last time

before the month of the Faithful Departed comes to an end.

Luminous Miseries has a good tip for growing closer to Christ this Advent.

Might I also recommend fasting? Not so much as a penance but as a way of 'cleaning house' for the imminent Guest. Just a thought. It's highly Marian too. Maybe you could begin on Dec.8 and conclude in time for Christmas Eve when the gifts and treats will have so much more meaning.

How fascinating that the liturgical year ends up placing these alpha and omega times side by side: November's reflections on mortality and Last Things right up against a new year and a chance to prepare our hearts for the Incarnate Word.

OSV just ran a great article by Emily Stimpson along these lines. Find a copy.

Bloggers have made much mention of the pope's choice to issue his new encyclical on the Feast of St. Andrew, but I wonder how much it has to do with looking ahead not only to Christmas and our new year but also to the New Jerusalem. We are poised on this brink, and there the pope has sent his good news.

I love being Catholic!