Tag: advent 2023

Advent & Christmas 2023 – O night divine

On By dpavinatoIn Catholic faith, Every day Catholic, praying for peace, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

It’s a dreary Christmas Eve morning, cloudy but the fog of yesterday and last evening has lifted. I have my Advent candles lit for the last time, all the Christmas trees and other decorations lit. The lights bring a welcome and comforting light to the drab day.

We began Advent with one candle and now the four brightly glowing candles remind us of the Light that has come into our world. We can rejoice that on this evening, over 2000 years ago, a Savior was born. The fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises, a promise of hope, came into the world and we too can live in hope. It seems quite poignant to me this year that the Holy Land is not able to celebrate Christmas and cities are filled with refugees seeking a promise of a better life. It accentuates our need for hope and peace. Let the final Advent candle, and the white Christ candle, remind us that there is a promise of Peace that we can cling to.

As we move from Advent later today, considering my time of prayer and reflection, I am always relieved that Christmas is an Octave, an eight day celebration of the birth of Jesus. If the last couple of days leading up to Christmas have been hectic and not enough quiet reflection time, you still have time after tomorrow. Spend time considering whether Advent and Christmas were all that you hoped for. If not, what can you do to change that? What grace can you pray for during the Octave of Christmas?

This year I wrote the Christmas letter for our Ignatian Ministries blog, Into The Deep. I scheduled it to post late this evening and our subscribers will receive the email and link to the blog tomorrow morning. If you have time late this evening (after 10 p.m.) or tomorrow after all the activities with family or friends settles down, I invite you to read it. We are so grateful for all that was birthed with Ignatian Ministries this year, it had lots of unexpected surprises but oh so many graces! Just like Advent is for each of us, we started with our prayers and desires, listened and discerned along the way, and said “yes” to those moments that felt like invitations from God. As in our individual lives, those “yeses” bring us to celebrate Jesus, and our relationship with him, each and every day.

I pray that the Light of the Christ Child illumines and fills your heart and home as we celebrate Christmas.

Peace, Deena

Photo: My Advent candles

Advent 2023 – O Come, O Come

On By dpavinatoIn Catholic faith, Daily Prayer, sacred waiting, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

In years past I arrive at this point of Advent wishing I spent more time in prayer and reflection. There are things I would have preferred to done more of but feel I have entered this season of waiting more than years past. I find myself a bit sad for a different reason – this third week of Advent is our final week! The Fourth Week of Advent is only one day, for that matter, a partial day, next Sunday because it is also Christmas Eve.

My favorite week of scripture, all the special Gospels to savor in the Christmas narrative, will be this week, along with all the baking, card writing and sending, and shopping. However, not feeling well last week and part of this week, has helped me to focus on what really matters this year, and I have been trying to approach the season with a different, more simple, attitude. My sister-in-law and I chatted this week about all that we have and are grateful for, what we desire this year is to spend time together and enjoy the gift of family and friends. So, yes, I have a list of desired outcomes for each day, but what gets done, is what will get done. I would rather arrive at Christmas with love and joy instead of a frenzied attitude.

As we enter the final week before Christmas, today, December 17, begins my favorite days of Advent with the recitation of the O Antiphons with the Magnificat (Mary’s song of praise) each night with Vespers, evening prayer. We know them from the famous carol, O Come O Come Emmanuel. The seven titles of the Christ are sung, or recited, each evening to call upon Christ to come and save His people. Each prayer is short, a single line, invoking God based on the messianic hopes from the Old Testament.

For example, today’s Antiphon is Wisdom or Sapencia:

O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love; come to teach us the path of knowledge.

You can find them online, written or sung. I love the sung version that St. John’s Abbey provides for us each year. You can find the daily Antiphon on their website or on YouTube.

As I mentioned, this week is rich with the familiar stories of the months leading up to Jesus’ birth; the dream of Joseph, the angel promise to Zechariah, the Annunciation or visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, Mary’s canticle of joy (the Magnificat) and then the birth of John the Baptist.

As we enter this final week before Christmas, I invite you to read the Gospel for each day and then recite (or listen to) the O Antiphon for each day. As you pray the Antiphon each day, consider the grace you seek. What do you call upon God for? I can’t think of a better way to end each busy day, then a few quiet moments reflecting on what we are preparing for!

May you find peace and joy in these final days of Advent. Deena

Advent 2023 – Comfort not comparison

On By dpavinatoIn Catholic faith, Daily Prayer, Every day Catholic, sacred waiting, Spiritual Journey, Uncategorized1 Comment

The first reading from Isaiah for the Second Sunday of Advent begins with the word “Comfort”. I was not feeling comfort yesterday. I having been feeling well this week, and lost my voice. Well, not entirely but I didn’t have as much voice as I needed to proclaim the readings this week as lector for Vigil Mass. I spent Saturday resting and picking up some items to soothe my throat and buy some groceries. I wasn’t shopping or preparing for the holidays as I felt I should have been.

Last night I listened to the Saturday reflection for the Hallow app’s Advent series. The presenter for the series indicated that on Saturdays they would play music to contemplate and rest in. This week’s song was “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” by the Benedictine of Mary, Advent at Ephesus. I instantly felt myself calming down. Advent at Ephesus has been my favorite Advent reflection music since Fr. Gary Blake introduced it to us before Mass or during Holy Hours years ago.

As I calmed down I asked myself whether it was just my disappointment in my voice or something else stirring within. I realized quickly how comparison was weighing me down. Others have shopping done, I haven’t started except for the ideas in my mind. I am receiving Christmas cards and mine aren’t written yet. How did I have time to make cards while working full time and now, working part-time, I have to resort to buying them. Speaking of working, I compare my previous income to my current and I can go in a tailspin of worry. I look at my beautiful decorations and then see posts of bigger trees, prettier lights, cheery mantles and festive table settings. I read Advent reflections, online and in books, and think other writers are more intelligent and profound in their Advent pondering.

St. Peter asks the most important question in the second reading for this week, “Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion….” I don’t think the reading suggests that we give up our holiday celebrations and gift-giving but it does ask us to put things in perspective.

If we aren’t careful we can get lost in the rush during this season, meant to be one of waiting and contemplating. Find time to slow down this week and reflect on the true reason for our joy and celebration. Prioritize your quiet reflection time amidst the other activities. Ignatian Solidarity Network has a lovely online Advent calendar and asked yesterday, “What opportunities exist for you to practice simplicity this week?”

Be grateful for the things you have and the talents you have been given. We are each created as unique and special beings, find comfort in that instead of comparing yourself to someone else. I will try to do the same.

Peace, Deena

Photos:

Cover Image – my reminder “ornament” to find find calm in the midst of chaos

Our Advent wreath at Holy Family Church

Advent 2023 – Wake up, be watchful and alert

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual Journey3 Comments

We begin the new liturgical year today with the First Week of Advent. Advent is our season of waiting. The gospels ending the year, this past week, and beginning now in Advent invite us to be vigilant, to be watchful and alert, to be aware of the times that we forget what our true purpose in life is, growing closer to God as we wait for Jesus’ coming at Christmas and to welcome Him when He comes again.

I spent Friday and Saturday this weekend at the Benet House Retreat Center at St. Mary Monastery. I am an Oblate of St Mary Monastery so Benet House has always been one of my favorite places to go and pray. The retreat was an Advent “Hiding Place” Retreat offered by Lorene Knobbe, Assistant Program Director for the retreat center. It was a silent retreat, so I was looking forward to the quiet reflection time in between the four sessions reflecting on each week of Advent. Many of the rooms in the center look out at the beautiful grounds of the monastery so there is always an abundance of birds and wildlife that pop into view and make the scenery even more enjoyable and peaceful. I always see deer. As a matter of fact my desktop photo is of two deer I saw there several years ago.

As we began our retreat the group mentioned they just saw deer in the large grassy area below our meeting room. Another woman mentioned on Saturday, a deer was below the window as she opened the blinds in her room in the morning. I kept watching and waiting. As I was in my room gathering my things, looking out the window again, I thought, I’m so surprised the deer let me down this visit. I got in my car, backed up and turned to leave the parking area and saw a white tail. I pulled up further, alongside the open area next to the retreat house and saw the two beautiful creatures in my photo this week along the tree line gazing back at me. I smiled, thanked them and immediately thought – be watchful and alert, I am here, feel my gaze upon you.

During the retreat Lorene kept reminding us to sit quietly and feel God’s gaze upon us. I love this and often try to enter my prayer time in this way because of a virtual study program I took with Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V. on spiritual discouragement. He also begins his Daily Contemplation series on the Hallow app with this invitation to feel God’s loving gaze.

If we aren’t watchful we can miss a sudden sign or nudge to move closer to God. If we aren’t vigilant about our emotional well-being, the concerns of the season can overwhelm and distract us from the experience of hopeful anticipation. If we aren’t careful the noise of the world can move us away from the peace and calm we find resting in God’s presence in prayer and reflection.

I always try to pick up a book in one of the sitting rooms at the retreat house, even though I bring a bag of books and resources that I want to reflect on during my stay there. This trip a book of Rumi’s writing immediately caught my eye. I would like to share this with you:

The Beauty you craved in things was always my face seen through a veil.

Turn around.

See now where the beauty comes from.

How might you find some time to set aside and let God’s loving gaze come down upon you? What are some things you might change this Advent to be more watchful and alert? What grace do you seek, or is there an intention you would like to set, during this season of quiet waiting?

Then watch; watch for opportunities to turn to God instead of giving in to the anxieties or busyness of the holiday season and watch in hope for signs of God’s presence in your life.

Advent blessings, Deena

p.s. I also want to say a note of thanks to each of you who read my blog. I began a year ago, in November, on the first Sunday of Advent. I have enjoyed the feedback you have given, online or in person, and am grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.

Images: Advent wreath – KaLisa Veer on Unsplash

Photo: My photo of the deer at Benet House Retreat Center

Advent – December 18, 2022

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, spirituality2 Comments

The Fourth Week of Advent. Here we are. Typically I arrive at this point wishing I had taken more time to slow down, more time to pray or read spiritual writing, and taken more time to savor the coming of Christmas. I absolutely see missed opportunities in the past three weeks but this year feels a little different. My weekly prayer group, assisting on an Advent prayer guide at work and facilitating two Advent small groups has helped. Perhaps the more we immerse ourselves in something that we desire, the easier it is to attain the desired goal.

This weekend I was reminded of something that a parish priest, Fr. Tony, said to me when we were meeting to discuss my involvement in activities at the parish over 25 years ago. The priest assigned and then reassigned after one year, right before Fr. Tony, was the first one to reach out and ask me to get involved. He not only asked me to get involved, he gave me the task of writing a weekly prayer guide for Advent, with a prayer and reflection for each day. I had never written anything like that before! They turned out pretty good and I found the task of writing each week to be quite enjoyable. I wrote one for Lent as well. Then he was reassigned and Fr. Tony came to Holy Family. I shared some of my experiences of living in Michigan (parish life, women’s groups, studying at an ashram…), interests and ideas I had for Holy Family. He either thought I was from another planet but was desperate for the assistance or he saw potential. I chose to believe the latter.

The conversation I was reminded of this weekend was “I’m open to trying different things here at Holy Family…but before that I would like you to go to the deep, dark incense-filled corners of the church and experience the beauty of the rituals and traditions of the church.” That began a journey that has led me to a deepening of my faith life, an ever-growing appetite for learning about the Church and our spiritual mothers and fathers, and some of most amazing spiritual experiences. Not too long after that I considered religious life, but discerned I wasn’t cut out for community life. I compared and visited different communities to learn about their “associate” programs ultimately leading me to the Sisters of St. Benedict at St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island, IL (initially Nauvoo IL). After three years of formation and study, I became an Oblate. Again, the more we immerse ourselves in something, the more likely we will achieve the desired goal.

One of the rich traditions of the Church begins each year on the evening of December 17 with the recitation of the first of the O Antiphons, “Come O Wisdom”. The seven days of reciting the O Antiphons are absolutely my favorite week of Advent. Each of the seven antiphons (Wisdom, Lord, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Dayspring, King of the Nations and Emmanuel, God with us) have been sung (or recited) as part of evening prayer, with the Magnificat, since as early as the eighth century. The antiphons use images from the Bible that remind us of Old Testament prophecies of the coming of Jesus Christ.

My mother was hospitalized in early December many years ago after a fall that required spinal surgery. I visited the large chapel at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria every evening to pray before leaving her and beginning the hour or so drive home. The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, the hospital sisters, came to the chapel during Advent and prayed each evening. Seeing me there a few evenings, they invited me to pray with them. Hearing them sing the O Antiphons each night, the final week before Christmas, was a profound experience. I will treasure it and the time with the sisters forever.

I saw a delightful version of O Wisdom, shared by the International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies on Facebook written by St. Hildegard. St Hildegard, a favorite saint, was a Benedictine Abbess in the twelfth century. She studied herbs and oils and wrote about medicine, composed chants and sacred music, created amazing art, wrote poetry and was a mystic. She wrote “O Wisdom…hip, hip, hooray! From earthen clay have all God’s splendid wonders sprung, that the new Sun might come forth, the new Light shine, the new Song sound in us!” (oi, oi! De limo Terre in Latin)

There is still a full fourth week of Advent available to us this year. Next year it will only be one day long. Sunday will be the Fourth Sunday of Advent but also Christmas Eve, so we will lose a week of Advent. Treasure the full week this year. And what an amazing week it is! We began on Saturday hearing the genealogy of Jesus, then for the Fourth Sunday of Advent reflect on Joseph’s dream and decision to trust the message and protect his little family. On Monday we listen to the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Zechariah’s visit by Angel Gabriel and his disbelief when Gabriel tells him aging Elizabeth will bear a son, John. We hear the Annunciation and Visitation stories, my favorites, scripture passages of Mary and Elizabeth. We experience the prayers, first declared by Zechariah and Mary, that are now prayed each and every day, the Benedictus and the Magnificat, in the Liturgy of the Hours, at Morning and Evening Prayer respectively.

How might some of these remaining days of Advent help you prepare for Christmas? How can we experience the joy that would leave us singing a “new Song sound in us”? With last minute baking, shopping or cleaning left to do, can you create time to enter into the rich tradition of our Church lived through scripture or the praying of the O Antiphons? What do you desire in these final days of Advent so that you feel ready to welcome Emmanuel, God With Us?

Peace be with you, Deena

Photo from Shutterstock on PicMonkey

Visit the monks at St John’s Abbey and scroll down to find the nightly singing of the O Antiphons

Advent – December 11, 2022

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, spiritualityLeave a comment

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers and rejoice with joyful song. Isaiah 35

Isaiah continues in Chapter 35 by describing a world that will see the splendor of God, where hands are strong and knees are firm (ok, that part of the prophecy hits home), the frightened are now fearless and unafraid, eyes and ears seeing and hearing and the lame able to leap and move about. The prophet continues to talk about a new world order, as I shared last week. It’s a beautiful vision to hold and rejoice in during this Third Week of Advent.

Today after a parish cookie sale, I dropped off our excess cookies at the homeless shelter. The person that greeted me said that the cookies would be appreciated because there are so many children staying at the shelter at the moment. It broke my heart. You don’t have to look far to see similar stories of hardship, just watch the news. I know families grieving the loss of a loved one as we prepare for Christmas, and in two specific cases, one in my area and another in Baton Rouge, two families trying to navigate life after the suicide of 13 year sons. Weather catastrophes, homelessness, violence – how do we rejoice? Where do we see glimpses of the world to come? We have faith that when Jesus comes again, we’ll see the glory of the Lord. But what about now?

I am in a weekly prayer group that began about 4 years ago after attending a weekend parish retreat. We select different books or programs to study and discuss. We are currently reading the Advent and Christmas Reflection book by Word on Fire, The Word Became Flesh. One of the homilies included for reflection in the book was written by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. St. Bernard was a Benedictine Abbott and major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine order. He was canonized a short time after his death and named a Doctor of the Church in 1830. I was awestruck! St. Bernard writes in dramatic fashion of the brief moment that the Angel Gabriel is waiting for Mary to respond yes, her fiat. He writes that God needs Mary to respond yes, to give her consent to the angel, for the fulfillment of salvation to take place, and that the rest of humanity waits in anticipation. It is one of the most moving pieces I have read. (The homily can be found in the Office of Readings, for the Fourth Week of Advent, in the Liturgy of the Hours, the “Divine Office” or Breviary.)

I have been thinking about that homily all week. I don’t mean these next ponderings on the same level of importance as Mary’s fiat, but I wonder if God waits for our consent, the decisions we make and actions toward others, to be part of the plan of bringing love and hope in the world. Does God wait for us to help provide hope to those we encounter?

Perhaps God places desires in our heart as way to serve. Perhaps God waits with a similar anticipation for us to stand in our “yes” to those desires, our call.

One of my favorite prayers is by St. John Henry Cardinal Newman regarding our mission in life. It was shared in class when I was in the Lay Ministry program in our Diocese. I have never forgotten it and when I wonder about my purpose or have a decision to make, I often return to this prayer.

This is the beginning of the prayer:

God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work.

As we try to identify and live that mission, we can live in an Advent spirit of Gaudete, Rejoice. We help our world move a step closer to that vision that Isaiah shares of the ransomed returned and where sorrow and mourning are ceased. If not ceased, maybe paused for just a moment. We enter singing, crowned with an everlasting joy that cannot be filled by the passing moments of this world. We anticipate and look to that day, as we do this Advent for Christmas, with hearts full of rejoicing and joyful song.

Peace be with you, Deena

Image by Shutterstock on PicMonkey

Advent – December 4, 2022

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith4 Comments

On this Second Sunday of Advent we hear about a new world order. It certainly doesn’t sound like the world we live in today. The world feels more chaotic, like we should be listening to the voice of the prophet John the Baptist, calling us all to reform and repent. Yet, Isaiah tells us of a world that will be filled with justice, harmony, animals that usually attack each other lying down peacefully together, and the ultimate prize, peace for ever.

While we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas and again, at the end of time, we seek that peace in our hearts and in our families. Our daily prayers help us to vision the world that Isaiah foretells. They help us to slow down, to listen, to be still in the midst of our holiday shopping, baking and preparations. To see the world differently, to be a bit kinder.

But in the scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, I was most struck by St Paul’s letter to the Romans. St. Paul tells us that the God of endurance and encouragement will help us to think in harmony with one another and that with one voice we will glorify God. He asks us to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us. Harmony? One voice? This can seem like a remote fantasy too.

If you have ever visited a Benedictine Monastery, you have experienced that kind of being welcomed that St. Paul speaks of. The community makes sure that your needs are taken care of and that you have someone to guide you to chapel, that you feel included and part of communal prayer. In The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 53, The Reception of Guests, Benedict writes that “all guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ.”

Can you imagine if we spent our days trying to see Christ in others? The person that races up behind you in the car or cuts you off? The grouchy clerk that tosses your items down to the end of the checkout counter like a frisbee? The colleague that says they are listening but is distracted the entire time? The politicians we don’t agree with? The governments around the world abusing our natural resources? I am sure we can all come up with a list of people we are challenged to see as the body of Christ standing before us.

One of the daily prayer guides I use for reflection and daily Mass is Give Us This Day. I read editor, Mary Stommes’ reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent on Welcome. She talks about Advent as a time that exists right now but also not yet. She says “The thing is, the more clearly we see Christ, the more Advent will cut to our core. The more we will realize that hope and hurt are close companions. The more we will recognize our own sinfulness, the ‘harm and ruin’ we inflict within and without.” (December issue, Second Sunday of Advent Reflection.).

I am challenged to look at how I encounter others when I am distracted or in a bad mood. Do I set aside my own concerns and look for the face of Christ in the person standing right in front of me? Can I say a silent prayer for the person that I see as treating me unfairly? Where am I inflicting “harm and ruin” by being angry at or judging others? Are you willing to join me on this challenge this week?

My prayer is that we find opportunities to be kinder, more welcoming and hospitable to those we encounter each day this week. If we can, then I think we close the gap a bit between the way the world is today and the way we long for it to be. We help prepare the way and help make straight the path. We help water the roots so a bud of peace will blossom.

Peace be with you, Deena

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to Give Us This Day if you don’t already.

Image by Laura Nyhuis on Unsplash

Advent – November 27, 2022

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, spirituality1 Comment

Starting this blog on the First Sunday of Advent seems fitting, it’s the first day of the Liturgical Year 2023. Happy New Year! I would like to share a few thoughts about why I am writing and then a thought about Advent.

The idea to write about journeys began many years ago when I owned my little ice cream/health and wellness shop in Oglesby, Illinois. I had an idea for a book and bought a url for a website. Seriously, I mean MANY years ago, a time before blogs! I wanted to write about how our call, to live our lives authentically using the gifts and talents we each have, comes to life when we share it with others. We help others as we honor the call we each have and encourage each other to listen to it. I sat on it for years!

In more recent times, I have been encouraged to listen to the voice within that seeks expression, by exceptional writer, journalist, contemporary poet and friend, Judith Valente. I’ve been inspired by Judith to keep journaling, writing haiku and letter writing. (A must read regarding two spiritual companions sharing their journey in letter writing – How to Be by Judith and Brother Paul Quenon) Although I am not as faithful as I would like with poetry writing. Judith said write for yourself, write to share your thoughts, even if no one reads it. I have pages of ideas that would be part of a book. I waited for a sign, for more ideas, to have more time. I kept putting it off.

About a month ago, I had a pretty significant emotional setback. It wasn’t a crisis of faith, but one of purpose. I wondered what the point was if I didn’t have a purpose. I had a lot going on in my personal and work life, so I know now, looking back, things seemed worse at the moment than they actually were. But it was a moment of crisis that resulted in deep self-reflection and setting goals to focus on things that are important to me. One of those goals was to begin this blog. So, today I begin.

Perhaps you have had moments like that on your life’s journey. Think about who and what helped you moved out of the darkness of not knowing what to do next. Write about it – capture your thoughts in a journal or write a letter (yes, the long-hand kind, on stationery, not an email or text) to the person who was there for you.

Advent is a time of waiting and preparing. In life we wait. We wait for summer vacations, holidays and family gatherings. We wait for good health reports or wait in hopes that the news isn’t bad. We wait for the arrival of a new baby, a new job, new beginnings. We live in a time of instant gratification. We don’t like to wait or we wait impatiently. All you have to do is look at Black Friday sales that begin in September or October and continue long after “the” Black Friday. We are marketed to and sold that we have to act now or we’ll miss out.

In some ways, spiritually, this is true. We need to “awaken from our slumber, to always be aware of the presence of God, and to welcome Him in our daily lives.” (Pope Francis, Angelus Message on the First Sunday of Advent) Pope Francis also said we need to shake off the lethargy of daily life and be vigilant always. To wait for, prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas and at the end of times should give us reason for hope. It is a foundation of our Christian faith.

I attended the funeral of a wonderful woman yesterday. I will miss her warm smile and greeting at daily and Saturday Masses. Madeline had a long life and the celebration of her faith was a reason for rejoicing that years of believing and confident trust will be worth the wait for her. The “discipline of doing God’s will is not … quick and easy. Neither is bearing with things that we have repeatedly asked God to fix” says Judith Sutera in Advent and Christmas: Wisdom from St. Benedict. As a Benedictine Oblate (lay associate of a Benedictine monastery) we begin the year (and repeat twice through the year) with the Prologue of The Rule of St. Benedict reminding us to get up, to rise from our sleep and to open our eyes and ears to God’s voice.

Advent helps us take a deeper look at the delicate balance of waiting, slowing down in hopeful anticipation, and being prepared for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. My goal is to be more thoughtful and prayerful this Advent. I don’t want to arrive at Christmas saying I wish I had prepared better, spiritually. I also don’t want to say that at the end of my days.

On this first day of Advent, make a “new year’s” resolution of your own. How would you like to spend this time of waiting, preparing for Christmas? What changes might you make to deepen your faith life or your spiritual practices and communal prayer life this new liturgical year? Is there a slumber or lethargy that you would like to wake from? How can you be more aware of God’s presence in the common and ordinary moments of each day?

Peace be with you, Deena

Note: My goal is to write weekly but during this holy time of Advent and Christmas, I may post a bit more. I hope that this blog will provide some food for thought and inspiration, but at least, know that you have a friend on this journey with you.

Image by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash