"As a young priest, one Saturday in December in the early ‘70s, I was in the sacristy at St. Matthew’s Cathedral waiting for a wedding. My weddings were always notoriously late. Suddenly, the young bride appeared in the doorway, looking lovely in her white gown and her veil. But I could see that she had been crying. I asked, “What’s the matter?” She said, “Father, there’s not going to be any wedding. My fiancee is in Buffalo, N.Y., and there’s six feet of snow there. Father, please inform the people in church that there will be no wedding.” So I went to the pulpit and I announced that there was not going to be a wedding. There was an audible gasp from the congregation. But then I told them that they were to go to the restaurant for the reception. That the band and the food were waiting. They all trotted off and had a grand time.Later that day, I was reflecting on the strange turn of events. And because it was Advent, I thought, “Christmas has become like that wedding.” We have the lights and the music and the food and the parties and the gifts and the Bridegroom is in Buffalo. Advent needs to be about bringing the Bridegroom back to the party at Christmastime. By making this time of spiritual preparation a time of more intense prayer, a time for confession, a time for works of mercy, reconciliation in our families and communities. A time to listen to the Bridegrooms’ call to be vigilant and awake. Yes, Jesus is the Bridegroom, he is never the widower. He does not exist separate from the bride, his Church. He loves us so much that he became a part of our human family and he laid down his life for our salvation. And yes, he calls us to journey together with him.
For the Irish, the most powerful Christmas symbol has been the candle, placed in the window. It was lit by the youngest member of the family and could be extinguished only by someone named Mary. I don’t have to tell you that there’s no shortage of Irish girls named Mary. The candle in the window in an Irish home had two meanings. It was a sign of welcome to the Holy Family, of Mary and Joseph looking for a place in the Inn. It was also an invitation during the times of persecution, to a priest to come and celebrate a clandestine Christmas Mass for the family. It was worth risking everything to be able to have the Eucharist ...... Yes, the candle is in the window. As our ancestors who refused to take the soup, and who risked their lives and fortunes to go to Mass, we profess and believe that God’s love for us is so great he has made a gift of himself to us in the Eucharist. Yes, the candle is in the window, because Christmas is Christ’s Mass. .... The Eucharist gathers us, as Christ’s family, to be united in the teachings of the Apostles, in fellowship and in prayer, and in the breaking of the bread, sharing what we have so that no one will be hungry. Not materially hungry, not spiritually hungry. The urgency of the Gospel today bids us, “Gather faithfully each week, as a worshiping community.”
The stakes are high; it is a matter of life and death. The branches need the vine. We need to be nourished by Christ’s words and by his sacrament. And we need to be nourished by the presence of the brothers and sisters of the household of the faith, the body of Christ, the Church. My brothers and sisters, as we journey together in Christ, let us put a candle in the window. A candle that says, “Welcome, welcome, welcome.” A candle that says, “The Eucharist is to die for.”"

~ Cardinal Sean of Boston

I was reading Cardinal Sean's blog and i came across a beautiful homily that he gave during the week and i have taken a few excerpts from the Homily, however, i believe that it is worth reading it all. You can click here (audio version)