ALAMOSA — The weeks leading up to Christmas are a busy time. During what is the busiest time of the year for Christians, Father Carlos Alvarez with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alamosa took time for an interview to discuss the Advent season and the meaning of Christmas.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Advent is from the Latin, ad-venire or ‘to come to,’ and is the season encompassing the four Sundays leading up to the celebration of Christmas."
Alvarez quoted Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York who said, "Advent is the celebration of the coming of Christ in history, mystery and in majesty." Alvarez continued, "In history, the nativity of Jesus and his incarnation in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. In mystery, his coming on the sacred altar in the Eucharist by blood, soul, and divinity in the Catholic Church teaching. In Majesty, his second coming in glory.
"We have this season of Advent that is framed by three persons, the Prophet Isaiah, Saint John the Baptist, and his ministry preparing us for the coming of Jesus, and finally, the Blessed Virgin Mary, she was the first and perfect disciple of Jesus and prepared for Jesus through her immaculate conception. Her patient hopeful expectation of the time when Jesus was growing within her womb and how she nurtured him and prepared him for his public ministry with Saint Joseph, her husband."
The parish also recently celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe with a mass and mananitas, or songs of congratulations on very special days, said Alvarez.
Reflecting on what the meaning of Christmas is Alvarez offered, "For me, Christmas has been this celebration of God's gift of himself in the person of his son Jesus Christ. That is a unique gift in the history of salvation. That God would become like a creature, and give himself to us humbly in that divine person in the human nature as well. That to me is the core of the celebration of Christmas. This gift of this divine in the most humble of circumstances, in this cave with these animals, and parents who were according to the gospel text, poor. He was born in poor and humble circumstances. This is how he choose to enter into our reality, into our humanity as a divine person. Of course, we have the Archangels, the Shepherds, the Magi [wise men] who visited our blessed lord. His first witnesses were humble animals. It is just amazing that someone could love us so much that they would become like us in all things. That is the gift of Christmas, the gift of the Nativity. It is just a reminder of the humility of God to live humbly."
The church will hold several Christmas services. On Christmas Eve, Mass will be at 4 p.m. (Family Mass) with the United in Christ Youth Choir, and at 6 p.m., (Spanish Mass), and a Midnight Mass. There will be no morning Masses that day. On Christmas Day, a 10 a.m. Mass will be celebrated. Sacred Heart Catholic Church is located at 715 4th St., Alamosa.
