SISTERS CREATE AND CELEBRATE COSMIC ADVENT RITUAL
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In Christian tradition, the four weeks before Christmas is called Advent, a season of anticipation celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas. In a larger sense, Advent celebrates the coming of the fullness of God when all of creation including humans has reached its mature completion and God is all in all. This larger view implies that all things evolve and reach a unified Oneness. It is this evolutionary awareness that has led to a more current expression of the traditional Advent ritual.
In 2019 the School Sisters of Notre Dame created an adaptation to the traditional Christmas wreath ritual that includes evolutionary science, biblical hope and brings to life Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si.
The Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland led by Sister Elizabeth Davis implemented this new Advent ritual in their Advent celebrations called Cosmic Advent Wreath. Briefly, the first candle of the display represents The Birth of the Universe. The second candle represents The Birth of the Solar System. The third candle represents The Birth of Jesus the Christ and the fourth My Birth into the Whole Body of the Universe.
The following two resources, shared below, give the background to the Sisters’ creation and implementation of the Cosmic Advent Ritual.
https://ecospiritualityresources.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/adventinthenewuniversestory.2020.pdf
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It seems to me that this ritual adaptation is a good example of how to go beyond the traditional ritual and also include it into a larger and more expansive celebration for our time.
-Sister Mary Vandersteen, csj