December 14/Second Thursday of Advent(Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church) “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” ~ Matt 11.12 The events of the last year or two – wars in the Middle East and Europe, an…
Keeping Advent 11: The Things We Carry
December 13/Second Wednesday of Advent(Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr) “Come to me, all you that are weary and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matt 11.28 A dear friend has a quotation taped inside one of her kitchen cabinets that I try to remember whenever I am tempted to make a snap judgment of someone,…
Keeping Advent 10: Only Connect
December 12/Second Tuesday of Advent “. . . Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.” ~ Luke 1.39 At the moment of life-changing news, what does Mary instinctively do? She seeks out human contact, craving the solace and strength that friendship…
Keeping Advent 9: Circular Thinking
December 11/Second Monday of Advent They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. ~ Luke 5.18-19 A few…
Keeping Advent 8: Memento Mori
December 10/Second Sunday of Advent Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness? ~ 2 Peter 3.11 Memento Mori (Latin for “Remember you must die”) is the title of a 1959 novel by the redoubtable 20th-century Scottish author Muriel Spark, who is a longtime…
Keeping Advent 7: Bringing in the Harvest
December 9/First Saturday of Advent When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” ~ Matt 9.36-38 However you…
Keeping Advent 6: Seek and Hide
December 8/First Friday of AdventSolemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary The Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” ~ Gen 3.9-10 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of…
Keeping Advent 5: Demolition by Neglect
December 7/First Thursday of Advent The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. And it fell – and great was its fall! ~ Matt 7.27 Failure to build on a strong foundation is inevitably a pathway to collapse, whether one is constructing a house or a faith life. The obvious and salutary…
Keeping Advent 4: Being There
December 6/First Wednesday of Advent Moving on from there Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, and going up onto the mountain he sat down there. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them. ~ Matt 15.29 The Jesus…
Keeping Advent 3: Wise Guys
December 5/First Tuesday of Advent “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” ~ Luke 10.21 No matter how many times I read this passage from Luke, it always makes me feel a bit defensive. What’s wrong with…