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Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
We Chose to Look Toward the Light
I found the following Advent Prayer on the Education for Justice website.
The Winter Journey of Advent
In this time of darkness,
We choose to look toward the Light.
In this time when so many suffer,
We choose faith, not despair:
We choose the work of compassionate justice.As we move through Advent together,
Hungry for transformation, for hope,
Our steps themselves
Transform us, nourish us.
We are on constant pilgrimage,
Moving to the heart of things,
Reaching beyond what any one of us
Can reach alone.The brightness of the incarnation
Guides us as we continue,
With the promise of the Prince of Peace
As the bright star in these dark nights.-Jane Deren
As Christmas Approaches, Let Us Be Attentive and Aware
I have enjoyed the writings of Edward Hays for many years. For today’s Advent reflection I have chosen a quote of his from A Pilgrim’s Almanac.
Take time to be aware that in the very midst of or busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.
And old abbot was fond of say, “The devil is always the most active on the highest feast days.”
The supreme trick of Old Scratch is to have us so busy decorating, preparing food, practicing music, and cleaning in preparation for the feast of Christmas that we actually miss the coming of Christ. Hurt feelings, anger, impatience, injured egos – the list of clouds that busyness creates to blind us to the birth can be long, but it is familiar to us all.
God Didn’t Chose Just “Good” People; God Chose You and Me
The Advent Gospel Reading on December 17th is always Matthew 1:1-17 – the Genealogy of Jesus. And what a motley crew! Murders, thieves, liars, harlots . . . Looks a little like us, I’d say. And these are the people – and we are the people – that God loves. I invite you to read the stories in the Hebrew Scriptures that tell about these ancestors’ lives. If they were are ancestors (and they are most definitely our spiritual ancestors), we would find things about their lives that would make us proud, and things that would shame us.
Isn’t it comforting that God hasn’t chosen just the “good” people? If God had only chosen “good” people, then I would be out in the cold!
I came across a quote in an Advent reflection booklet from 1991 – no author listed – in a booklet called Advent Journey.
Just because God is for us and with us.
God is not against others.
If God has made a “covenant” with God’s people,
it is not to erect walls
which separate and oppose
believers and non-believers,the good and the evil,
the just and the guilty.God’s salvation has no limits;
it is offered to all who are open to
God’s love.
To be open to others and
to witness to
God’s greatness
is to be ready to listen to God’s Word:
“I will make all things new.”
Yes, Advent is the Season of Hope!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Delicate
Today’s Advent reading is from the Prophet Zephaniah.
God Rejoices Over You!!
This good news tells us how great is God’s rejoicing over each one of us! Sometimes we may feel like an insignificant weed, but truly we are creations of great and delicate beauty!
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
God has removed the judgment against you,
and has turned away your enemies;
the Ruler of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The Lord, your God is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
God will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in God’s love,
God will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.
May the Light of Dawn Illuminate Our Hearts
The “Collect” is a prayer that is said at the beginning of a Eucharistic Liturgy (Mass), and is meant to be a gathering prayer. The following is the Collect in today’s Advent liturgy.
May the splendor of your glory dawn in our hearts, we pray, Almighty God, that all shadows of the night may be scattered and we may be shown to be children of light by the advent of your Only Begotten Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever.
Let Us Be like the Tree Planted by the River
Today’s Advent reading is from Psalm 1.
Those who follow you, Lord will have the light of life.
[The one who meditates on God’s law] is like a tree
planted near running water,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever that one does, prospers.Those who follow you, Lord will have the light of life.
May We Bring Justice to the Earth this Advent
Today’s Advent quote is from the Gospel Acclamation, which is taken from Isaiah 45:8.
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Let the clouds rain down the Just One,
and the earth bring forth a Savior.Alleluia, Alleluia.
We Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe
I am reposting this blog today on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We have many feasts of Mary in the Church. And this is , by far, my favorite.
The Trees of the Forest Rejoice!
Today’s Advent Reading is the Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96.
The Lord our God comes with power.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless God’s name;
announce God’s salvation, day after day.The Lord our God comes with power.
Tell God’s glory among the nations;
among all peoples, God’s wondrous deeds.
Say among the nations: The Lord is ruler;
God governs the people with equity.The Lord our God comes with power.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in the!
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice.The Lord our God comes with power.
They shall exult before the Lord, for God comes;
for God comes to rule the earth.
God shall rule the world with justice
and the people with constancy.The Lord our God comes with power.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Changing Seasons
Let Us Catch the Changing Seasons
It is a spectacular thing when cacti blossom! The flowers have a way of overshadowing the cactus, and in the stark landscape of the desert, we can be overcome by their beauty. It is wonderful to catch the changing of the seasons by seeing the bloom of the cactus.
And really when we can catch the change of any season, it is amazing! To catch the color of the leaves in autumn – to catch the ice crystals hanging from a tree – to catch the butterfly emerging from its cocoon – to catch the warm sun on long summer nights. When we truly catch these moments and allow them into our souls, we just might “rejoice with joyful song.”
Today’s Advent reading comes from the Prophet Isaiah.
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 35:1-2)
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