Third Week of Advent:Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday

Let fearful hearts rejoice!

May trembling hands and weak knees be strengthened.

Let the singing begin.

God comes with healing and purpose, with gladness and light, to set aside our doubts, to free us from the binding shackles of fear. God invites us to believe again in the promise of new life. We are called to acceptance of our present uncertainties. In these days, when many are faced with the need to move, we are reminded that God is present and there is no need to fear. There will be food; there will be warmth; there will be the compassionate ear and the voice of solace. The generous heart will care for the lonely one; the shut-in will be visited. As we respond to the needs of our world and our congregation, we know that God is faithful and we are faithful. We are faithful with God’s faithfulness. We say “Yes” in the ways that Mary and Juan Diego said Yes, knowing that we may not understand the how, but God’s faithful compassion will shine through. God watches over the stranger and God watches over us; God upholds the widow and the orphan and we uphold each other. Let us rejoice in the Spirit that is our strength. May we recall that desert flowers bloom and that Jesus came as the Light for our lives and our world. May we live in compassioate care with each other and with our universe.

Sr Helen Russell, csj

It is Now the Moment to Wake from Sleep

Here in the northern hemisphere, it is the season when light and life are fading. Darkness tends to encroach on our daylight ever more rapidly during these winter months and creates the perfect backdrop for Advent to do its work in us. In some ways it is the time to learn how to ‘see in the dark.’ This new way of seeing is more like a wake-up call.  In the readings of the 1st Sunday of Advent, St. Paul already admonished us, “Brothers and sisters, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. Let us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the amour of light; let us live honourably.” (Romans 13: 11-12)

In our day and age, living honourably has become ever more challenging. Not wanting to be a prophet of doom, I do acknowledge all the honourable things done by the many that care for our world, evident in so many commendable efforts made to turn things around, to protect our world and all who dwell here. However, as I wrote in last week’s reflection, Advent is a good time to take stock of how each one of us has contributed to the increasingly sad state of our precious life-giving planet. 

In his encyclical Laudato ‘Si, Pope Francis draws our attention to how St. Francis viewed our common home, Mother Earth. In his eye’s our earth "is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us."1

Here we are in the 21st century, on the brink of an ecological crisis.  We are living on Mother Earth who is threatened to the borderline of extinction. It is the eleventh hour to change our ways drastically, and change them soon, before it is too late – though some experts are of the opinion that we have long moved beyond the point of no return.  What is happening to our common home? Our ecological challenges, precipitated by our ravenous capitalism, pollution and smog, the despoliation of the resources of the natural world, etc. impact our natural habitat. This ecological crisis in turn impacts our lives and in alarming numbers animals are threatened with extinction.  With his encyclical, Pope Francis “metaphorically takes us by the hand and leads us to the plight of the Earth, its people and all its living things — and sometimes into places we would rather not go.”2

Most of us have learned things in the dark that we could never have learned in the light. Though we have been steeped in darkness, now is the time to see anew and heed this wake-up call. Let us be attentive, and take note:

what is God asking of me, of you?

What ecological virtues might we develop during this Advent season, and beyond? 

As Richard Rohr points out, “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.”

1.https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/spend-advent-laudato-si-and-question-what-god-asking-me 

 

- Sr. Magdalena Vogt, CPS

 

 

The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.

-St. John of Damascene

 

Advent 2: Want to Change the World?

Want to change the world? Want to make a difference? Take a long loving look around and let wisdom lead you!

We can wrap simple gifts in beautiful reusable bags and recycled ribbon and enjoy the gift giving, knowing that we make a difference while expressing our affection for one another.

But maybe what is more in keeping with this week’s reading is to look around at the economic systems and biases that are part of our everyday experience and let wisdom lead us.

Today’s first reading (Isaiah 11:1-10) is filled with paradox: the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, the lion shall eat hay like the ox, the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. Power and gentleness, roaring sounds and plodding journeys, innocence and venom.  This juxtaposition is also all around us.

The poor sleep under tents sheltering them from rain and snow; while I snuggle in a warm bed listening to the wind tap on my window.

The middle aged woman works three different jobs to make ends meet while corporations exceed the proposed growth in wealth.

What the prophet Isaiah holds out for us is, that as sure as the water covers the sea all will be well.

And who will bring about that “wellness”?

December 10th is the annual Human Rights Day. We might choose to write letters for Amnesty International’s petitions, or we might choose to attend a local conversation about precarious work situations, or we might lend a hand to a Habitat build, or we might speak to our federal government representatives about setting a direct course for Child Care for All.

As followers of Jesus – God’s love poured into humanity – our call is to walk alongside those persons who can identify systems that need to change so that Isaiah’s words are no longer a vision for wholeness in God’s heavenly embrace, but a reality leading into the holiness of God’s earthly embrace.

Christ invites us to be a signal for the nations. Will you let your light shine?

- Sr Loretta Manzara