Advent Hope - Day 2

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Scripture

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.  2 Thessalonians 2:15-17

Reflection

When I first became an Anglican and learned about the Advent season, I was a little surprised at the kinds of themes it had. The season of Advent was not the giddy season of festive parties and glittering décor that I had come to know throughout most of my life. A more rooted Advent tradition was a preparation for the return of Christ, not merely a preparation for Christmas celebrations. Indeed, there is an element of festive joy. Yet it is also a sober season that begins with sustained attention to our deepest longings, our longings for a Saviour. It is a time to reflect on this astonishing hope we find in the form of a tiny baby, born in a manger.

This Advent we are again invited and encouraged to attend deeply to the pulse of this season, to enter into it quietly, penitently, patiently and expectantly, allowing it to penetrate the depths of our souls.

Advent Prayer,

Like foolish folk of old I would not be,
Who had no room that night for Him and thee.
See, Mother Mary, here within my heart
I've made a little shrine for Him apart;
Swept it of sin, and cleansed it with all care;
Warmed it with love and scented it with prayer.
So, Mother, when the Christmas anthems start,
Please let me hold your baby--in my heart.

                                                         by Sr. Maryanna, O.P.

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Artwork, Jyoti Sahi: The Dalit Madonna, Methodist Modern Art Collection of Great Britain