Advent Reflections by Fr. Warren

1Dec

Advent Reflections – by Fr. Bob Warren, S.A.

It’s that time of year again. A time to get ready to celebrate the greatest event in human history; the birth of Christ. Ever since the fifth century the Church has observed the season of Advent as a special time for spiritual renewal. There is no specific biblical command that we should keep this four-week observance, but there is a clear exhortation running through scripture that we ought to prepare for the Lord’s coming.
We read in Isaiah 40:3-5
“A voice cries:
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
The uneven ground shall become level,
And the rough places a plain.”
And then, in Luke 3:4-6
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
And every mountain and hill shall
Be brought low,
The crooked shall be made straight,
And the rough ways shall be made smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
This is the imagery used by Scripture. The King is arriving; prepare the way. The Ruler is coming, make sure His path is clean. I would like to suggest that during these weeks of Advent we do just that. Along with our other Christmas preparations, let us get things ready for the coming of Christ.

1Dec

Advent ‘In Home’ Retreat

As we prepare for Christmas in our homes, let us also prepare for Christmas in our hearts, minds and souls.

Week 1 – Hope – a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

As we begin Advent, we light one candle in the midst of all the darkness in our lives and in the world.  It symbolizes our longing, our desire, and our hope.  Three “advents” or “comings” shape our desire: we want to be renewed in a sense that Jesus came to save us from our sin and death; we want to experience His coming to us now, in our everyday lives, to help us live our lives with meaning and purpose; and we want to prepare for His coming to meet us at the end of our lives on this earth.

So we begin with our longing, our desire, and our hope.   

When we wake up each day this week, we could light that candle just by taking a few moments to focus our minds.  We could pause for a minute at the side of our bed, or while putting on our slippers or our robe, and light an inner candle. Who among us doesn’t have time to pause for a moment? We could each find our own way to pray something like this:
“Lord, the light I choose to let into my life today is based on my trust in You.  It is a weak flame, but I so much desire that it dispel a bit more darkness today. Today, I just want to taste the hope I have for Your coming as I go to the meeting this morning, carry out the responsibilities of my work, face the frustration of some difficult relationships. Let this candle be my reminder of my hope.”
Each morning this week, that momentary prayer might get more specific as it prepares us for the day we will face. And as we head to work, walk to a meeting, rush through lunch, take care of errands, meet with people, pick up the phone to return some calls, answer e-mail, return home to prepare a meal, listen to the ups and downs of our loved ones’ day, we can take brief moments to relate our desire for the three comings of the Lord to our life.
If our family has an Advent wreath, or even if it doesn’t, we could pray together before our evening meal as we light the first candle on the wreath, or as we simply pause to pray our normal grace. Then, as we begin to eat, we can invite each other to say something about what it means today to light this first candle.
Perhaps we could ask a different question each night, or ask about examples from the day.  How am I getting in touch with the longing within me?  How did I prepare today?  What does it mean to prepare to celebrate His coming 2,000 years ago?  How can we prepare to experience His coming into our lives this year?  What does it mean for us now, with our world involved in so much conflict? How are we being invited to trust more deeply?  How much more do we long for His coming to us, in the midst of the darkness in our world?  In what ways can we renew our lives so we might be prepared to greet Him when He comes again? Our evening meal could be transformed this week, if we could shape some kind of conversation together that lights a candle of anticipation in our lives. Don’t worry if everyone isn’t “good” at this kind of conversation at first. We can model it based on our momentary pauses throughout each day, in which we are discovering deeper and deeper desires in the midst of our everyday lives.
And every night this week, we can pause briefly, perhaps as we sit for a minute at the edge of the bed. We can be aware of how that one, small candle’s worth of desire brought light into this day. And we can give thanks.  Going to bed each night this week with some gratitude is part of the preparation for growing hope and anticipation.

Ask the children….

What does it mean to hope?
What do you hope for?
How could you help share hope with other people?

Concluding Prayer

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Oh Come, oh Come, Emmanuel!

Advent In Home