ADVENT--COMMENTARY

Many years ago a young lawyer, Jeanette, joined our RCIA team at St. Isidore's in Yuba City. When we were dividing up the lessons among team members, she chose the Advent lesson. I was expecting a structured, lecture style lesson. Instead, Jeanette divided the RCIA members into groups and let each group examine some material on an Advent topic then present it to the other groups. This hands-on approach worked wonders. The Advent topics presented above are a development of that approach. Each year the RCIA members went home with a new appreciation for Advent and a set of neat activities to use in their families. Jeanette was an amazing presenter and an inspiration to everyone. She had survived complicated brain surgery as a child which made her blind in one eye. She wore a patch over the bad eye, never looking for sympathy, and working hard all the way through law school and beyond. A few years after giving this lesson, she died from complications from the brain tumor. We were blessed to have her with us throughout her short life.