By Marie Mulvenna

Five years ago, Father Jerry E. Hardy, archdiocesan chancellor, began working on an Advent guideline to prepare for the season of preparation for the feast of Christmas. The guideline first emerged as a booklet of music specifically for the Advent season. Now, the yearly project has mushroomed and become a full-fledged program with themes for homilies, weekday readings for prayerful reflection, suggested family enrichment programs for the season as well as special prayers for the lighting of the Advent wreath.

In 1974, Father Hardy's innovative program booklet caught the eye of persons responsible for the popular Alternate Celebrations Catalogue, a North Carolina based group responsible for de-emphasizing the commercialism of Christmas (and other holidays and seasons) and reemphasizing the spiritual meaning of gift-giving by suggesting alternate avenues for diverting millions of dollars for social justice, peace and human welfare needs. Father Hardy's local program was reprinted by Alternatives and distributed nationally as an excellent example of an alternate approach to Christmas.

Now, in 1975, Father Hardy's booklet has been distributed to the community taking part weekly in the Folk Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King, furnishing the theme for each week of Advent which will also be the theme of Father's Homily for that week.

Scriptural references are given for personal prayerful reflection and then a comprehensive listing of opportunities for family enrichment. The latter category includes diverse and easy-to-implement ideas for families to utilize to deepen the meaning and understanding of the Advent season and make it more meaningful for all.

Father Hardy said that giving people the advance background on the theme of his homilies enhances their understanding and participation, not merely in that Sunday's liturgy but in an overall outlook and spirit of the season. An opening theme poem sets the tone for the booklet and the season, stressing the concept of longing, yearning and emptiness, all being fulfilled in the "cup of our need," the manger of Christ's birth.

Scriptural references encourage people to spend a few moments daily reading and reflecting on the meaning of Christmas. Family emphasis in the Advent program is strongly underlined and outlines present a myriad of activities to stress the sense of preparation for the birth of Christ.

The booklet, Father says, stresses the importance of the liturgical season as such, showing it as a meaningful and needed framework for life. It is a specially important season, Father Adds, because it is "such a rich and practical context in which to view the reality of our everyday living."

Reflecting on the history of the Advent booklet, Father Hardy says simply that Advent is his favorite liturgical season and he finds real participation in the season a fitting response to the over-commercialism of the times. However, Father does not negate the advertising of the season completely, explaining that, indeed, it is not credible to go overboard by swinging back to nature and all non-profit oriented Christmas preparations. "That (seasonal gift sales) provides jobs for people and we can't overlook the importance of that."

The special booklet does, however, stress non-material values, instilling concepts out of which Christians give gifts, showing that the experience of Advent as one of preparation is at the "heart of life itself." Father adds, "There's so much more than gift buying, wrapping presents, etc. Yet, these things are closely related." Father said "We prepare ourselves in the same way that we prepare gifts -- for the rebirth of the Lord in us.

"Commercialism is overdone but it does give us a good point to make contact with and proper Advent preparation gives people a different view to all the ads they see by attaching a sort of subliminal message to them." Father said, "When we see the countdown of days until Christmas, it is also a sign to us that there are 'x' number of days for me to prepare for the availability of my heart for the coming of Jesus." Preparing for Christmas through Advent can be a very realistic goal for Christians, Father added.

In the folk liturgies at the Cathedral, Father Hardy said special Advent music is used as well as appropriate banners, and different forms of lighting to emphasize the specialness of the time. He gives the lion's share of the credit for the highly popular Masses to John Carr, leader of the cathedral Folk Group as well as Msgr. John McDonough, rector of the Cathedral, who has been supportive and interested in the project.

The Advent booklet, which made its debut as simply Advent music, is currently devoid of the music itself, and contains instead ideas and substance for the season. Father Hardy explained that the community had been taught the music for participation in the special Masses and are now quite familiar with it. He added with a laugh that perhaps next year he would expand the annual booklet to once again include the seasonal music of the advent season.