The Jesse Tree will be in the gathering space at Saint Patrick Catholic beginning the first weekend of Advent, November 28 – 29, 2015.
The homebound are in our hearts always
In the St. Pat’s tradition, the Jesse Tree embodies all of the sick and homebound in our parish community who are no longer are able to attend Mass.
Parishioners are invited to take a name from the Jesse Tree and send a Christmas card to the homebound St. Pat’s parishioners to wish them the peace, joy, hope and love that the Christmas season offers.
All in the community are encouraged to keep homebound parishioners close to their heart and in their prayers throughout the year.
We prepare our hearts for Christmas thorugh the Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree will remain in the gathering space until all of the names on the tree are selected. As we share our love with our homebound parishioners during the holy season of Advent, we help prepare our hearts for Christmastime.
The original roots of the Jesse Tree
St. Pat’s concept of the Jesse Tree representing homebound parishioners is cultivated from a slightly different tradition of the Jesse Tree. The original concept of the Jesse Tree was created to help people link the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the events leading up to Jesus birth. The Jesse
Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Jesse was the father of King David.
The tradition of decorating Christmas trees predates the arrival of Christianity in Western Europe and was adopted by the early Church. In order to associate the custom more clearly with Christianity, people made Jesse Trees—Christmas trees with decorations related to the events of Jesus’ birth and the prophecies about him in the Old Testament.
The St. Pat’s Jesse Tree tradition
Many parishes and families make Jesse Trees during Advent to remind them of these events as they prepare for Christmas connecting the Advent season with the faithfulness of God across four thousand years of history. The Jesse Tree at St. Pat’s links the history of the traditional Jesse Tree to our present day community.
Pope Francis encourges little gestures of love
St. Pat’s Jesse Tree is a little gesture of love—the place where holiness lies, as Pope Francis said in his the homily of his final Mass. Holiness lies in the little gestures of tenderness and compassion such as a warm meal waiting at home, a hug after a hard day at work, or a blessing before bedtime.
“These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different,” he said. “They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children.” All of these little signs of love are proof of Jesus’ presence in our lives, he said.
Will you bring a little gesture of love in the form of a greeting card to a homebound parishioner in our St. Pat’s family? Do you know someone in our St. Pat’s family whose name we should add to the Jesse Tree?
Questions? Contact Mary Randall, Pastoral Assistant for Pastoral Care 253-383-2783 ext. 4109 [email protected].
