Poking Holes in the Darkness

It is common in Advent to encounter the juxtaposition of the themes of light and darkness. In fact, they are found in the familiar, beautiful words of the prophet Isaiah alluding to the coming of the Savior.

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
They lived in a land of shadows,
but now light is shining on them.. (Isaiah 9:2)

A friend of mine shared a childhood experience of the novelist, Robert Lewis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island. The gist of the story was that on one occasion the delicate, young Robert was discovered by his nurse sitting with his nose pressed up against the glass of his bedroom window. He was thoroughly captivated by the scene of a lamplighter busily lighting the streetlamps below. The nurse, worried about her fragile charge, beckoned him away from the frosty windowpane into the warmth of his bedroom. Her charge, the young Robert, resisted her bidding, insisting that he wanted to continue to watch the man who poked holes in the darkness.

Is it not Advent’s clarion call to spread light as we go about performing our daily duties? Each of us has the potential to be a "lamplighter," whether through kindness, compassion, or simply being present for others. The Advent season invites us not just to wait for the light but to actively participate in spreading it. How much brighter our neighborhoods would be if there were more “lamplighters” among us poking holes in the darkness.

You might be interested in reading the late Pastor Dr. Peter James Flamming’s sermon on Christian Life: Poking Holes in the Darkness.  

“The Light Shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1:5

 -Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

Image: Paolo Nicolello @paul_nic/Unsplash

Keep Alert. Keep Awake.

ADVENT I - An Advent Reflection on Mark 13: 33-37

(Advent Reflection on Mark 13:33-37)

Dear Jesus,

You came to us, so long ago, as a precious babe lying in a manger.  Shepherds and Magi, alert and awake to their surroundings, came to visit. 

Years later, thousands of others heard your messages, the greatest being, to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbour as yourself.

At times, there were misunderstandings, “Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty or sick?”  You explained that whatever is done to the least of us, it is done to you. I believe that means you are always with us. 

Yet, you said, you will come again.

Since we do not know the day or time, you told us to always keep alert and awake.  This, however, is humanly impossible. Remember how you asked Peter and the sons of Zebedee to stay awake but they didn’t, not even for an hour?  You rebuked them, yet, continued to love them and forgave them.  Will you not do the same for us?  If that is so, then we need not worry.

We’ll try our best, Lord, to be awake and alert to the needs of others, to love one another and to love you.  We will, however, fall asleep, from time to time. When we do, may we, with each new awakening, rise up and start anew.

We do not know the future.  Thankfully, we believe and trust in your love and mercy.  For this, we are truly grateful.

As for the present, we will take your teachings to heart and strive to live in hope, peace, joy and love this advent season and all other seasons to come.

Amen.

Written by: Fernanda Estoesta, Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph 

33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” - MARK 13: 33-37

IMAGE: Unsplash/Waldemar

First Sunday of Advent

Reflection 

Image: Waldemar Brandt/Unsplash

In today's gospel St Matthew tells us, " you must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." This calls us to be aware of Christ's presence in ourselves and those around us - that is being aware of the importance ofthe way we speak to, are present to, and treat others.

One evening in late November a few years ago an elder who was not in very good shape came to my door. I will call her Clara. It was cold and stormy, so I brought Clara into the porch and closed the door to keep her out of the cold.

She told me that she needed some chippin (money). Clara asked me for $50 and told me that she would pay me back on Friday. I told her I didn't have any money to give out. She continued to lessen the amount all the way down to a loonie and I continued to tell her that I didn't have any money to give away.

I was aware of what she wanted the money for, and also of her real need - that was food. Finally, I was able to ask Clara if she would like something to eat. With her positive response I prepared a lunch for her, and she happily went on her way.

Awareness brings presence, acceptance, and openness to others and this is what God is calling us to this week - that is being ready because, "we do not know the hour when the Son of Man is coming."

Sister Bonnie Bryson, csj

A Reflection for the First Sunday of Advent

This Sunday, November 28th marks the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the Church’s new liturgical year. It is likely that we will hear again the beautiful strains of the Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. In its words we hear, in our hearts, a yearning and a personal call for Christ to meet us on the journey of our lives anew. Christ is always present in all things and in every moment and event and yet in Advent we ask for a new beginning, a fresh encounter with Christ as the time invites us to wait in patient hope to celebrate the birth of Jesus again; the incarnate Word en-fleshed  in the world.

The world in which we find ourselves, however, may seem less than hopeful at present. We continue to experience the devastation of the Covid pandemic, increasing news of global and local violence, the effects of ecological destruction accompanied by immeasurable human pain, poverty and displacement and the deep suffering endured by indigenous individuals and communities in light of the further revelations of the harm and cultural destruction wrought by the residential schools. Many will also be profoundly discouraged and saddened by examples of corruption and polarization in the Church, where the Good News of the Gospel seems to have been forgotten or abandoned and in the collapse of other institutions that formerly we may have trusted. 

Hope may seem far off and yet if we truly call on “Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us, to come we are already” expressing hope even in the darkness. In the Advent season we are reminded to encounter Christ again and any encounter with Christ calls each of us to BE hope in the world.

Advent invites us to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s coming by reflecting on our lives. The season presents an opportunity to gift us some time for quietness and inner reflection as we wait in hope. Am I able to enter into Advent in this way before getting caught up in the “razzmatazz” of contemporary celebrations of Christmas?  In the second reading in the Lectionary for the first Sunday of Advent, St. Paul, in his Letter to the Thessalonians says, “May God make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” As I call out for Christ to come again and as I encounter Him on the journey of Advent will I increase and abound in love for all? – the very reason for Christmas. What will that love look like? How wide and inclusive will it be?  Perhaps each day of the season as I greet the morning I might ask, not “what will I do today but rather, how will I love today? May our love continue to grow as we once again approach the  celebration of the birth of Christ in the world, the world of our times. And as we love so will we be and become like Christ, hope for a new day, the joy of Christmas!

-Sister Mary Rowell, csj

ADVENT 1

How do you experience hope? Did you enjoy the warmth of the sun in the first week of November? We had snowfall a few days earlier and yet nature teased us once again to take in the healing rays of the sun. Meteorologists and scientists will give us a logical explanation. Poets and musicians express it in other words. Perhaps you even began singing the Beatles song, “Here Comes the Sun”, or maybe that memory is before your time!

It strikes me that in the midst of COVID challenges these gifts of nature are bursting with hope, and sheer abundant blessing.

On the first Sunday of Advent we will pray the psalm antiphon: Restore us, O God, let your face shine, that we may be saved. These words too are full of hope. Listen: Let your face shine, “Here comes the sun”! Our Advent hearts seek the Son – the One who has come, and who will forever be present. We have such longings this year. We yearn for a healed world, reconciliation of divisions, laying down of weapons, deep conversations that help us understand each other better, creative responses to ecological disasters, a permanent shelter for our tent neighbours, a living wage for all, resources and caregivers to tend to our elderly loved ones, and on and on. . .  And we well know that longing must move us to intentional caring and if possible action.

Let’s carry these thoughts with us throughout the season, nestled within a vessel of advent hope. Scripture assures us of God’s promise - fullness of life. The Son did come. Christ did indeed take on flesh and blood, experienced pain, expressed frustration, even anger. What he also did was offer a deep knowing of another conscious reality – the mystery of divine love. That love was generously poured out in his life and continues to be poured out day after day by caring human beings and by nature revealing its cyclic pattern of dying and rising. The earth pulses with the rhythms of ebb and flow, like a heart-beat. Microcosms enrich the earth so that new life may grow. Water warriors strive to promote clean water for all people. Volunteers gather up plastics from our lakes and oceans. Advocates write letters and petitions to effect systemic change. Women of wisdom pray, sending loving, healing energy.

Our civic environment will become festive with trees alight and wreaths on doors, and we will hold onto the hope known other years in family visits and meals shared. Seasonal music will fill the air, and darker nights will draw us into comfy chairs where our hearts may just focus on the hope that is dearest to us. Let your face shine on us O God.  HERE COMES THE SON!

- Sister Loretta Manzara, csj