God's Advent | National Catholic Reporter

God's Advent | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: The return of captive Israel (the Samaritans) is a real thing - as they are both Romany (gypsy - I am one, so I can use the word and not violate PC) and converted Christian Palestinians who are now Muslim.  Now these are some challenging groups to deal with who are also poor - for many they are the unworthy poor - but we unworthy poor are the best kind.  Of course, the coming of Christ is mostly for our hearts - even for those to whom he has already come and still resides.  Clearing away the sin is good - but the reality is the darkness of  our hearts really does reflect the darkness of our land due to the changing of the seasons.  It makes many of us quite sad so we seek fellowship.  Indeed, Christmas was a drunken holiday where this was maximized - now many of those drunks are in AA rooms, quite sober, and seeking the light together in a way the Church doesn't fully address.  As for sin and our character flaws - its harder than just going to confession and discussing flaws in the past - our task is really to be perfect as our Father is - and in the way our Father is - with perfect Love.  That is harder than going to confession but it is the source for dealing with the poor of all kinds.