Reflecting on the Second Sunday of Advent

“God has done great things for us…” (Psalm 126)

“Prepare the way …Every valley shall be filled… the rough ways made smooth...” (Luke 3)

The Second Sunday of Advent strengthens our longing for the God of Peace to come swiftly to our shattered world, bringing compassion and light to many troubled areas: Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, etc. Would we not surrender our petty grievances if peace could be had in the devastated areas of our world, in the troubled hearts of the lonely and addicted, in the trauma of those burdened by homelessness and financial concerns? How we long to reconcile Conservatives and Liberals, Democrats and Republicans. Can we open our hearts wide enough to seek understanding without judgment?

We ask God to restore the fortunes of those despondent who worry like watercourses in the desert. Can weeping be turned into carrying and sharing of sheaves?

Healing hearts and lives, and divisions within and between countries are the crooked ways that need straightening out and uneven ground that requires leveling. Such acts are the great things that God longs to do for our world.

As we immerse ourselves in the purple of Advent, may we walk with the people in our troubled cities and world; may we claim the pain that is within our own minds and hearts and lift it to the light, safety and compassion of God’s presence. As the writer of Philippians was confident “that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Christ Jesus,” may we claim with confidence God’s compassionate presence and healing, both for ourselves and for our world.

Our country and the world are not broken; we need to rediscover and believe God’s promise of ongoing presence living in our hearts. We need to claim the strength, hope and commitment to prepare the way of God in our world today- an important task and not one done alone.

“… teach us, O God, to judge wisely the things of earth….”    (Prayer after Communion)

-Sister Helen Russell, CSJ

Images: Grant Whitty @grantwhitty/ Kelly Sikkema @kellysikkema Unsplash

The Peace Candle is Lit

Reflection for the Second Sunday in Advent: The Peace Candle is Lit.

“Comfort, O comfort my people, “ (Isaiah 40, 1-5)

Looking at the big picture right now, the world could use a little comfort. But alas, we wait. We “wait on the Lord” indefinitely for a time of peace. We also wait for times of personal peace in our own hearts and souls. The question is “ how do we find peace in our waiting?”

• waiting for the kettle to boil

• waiting for a baby to be born

• waiting for a loved one to die

• waiting for the pandemic to be over

• waiting to retire

• waiting for a healing

(think of the man who waited 40 years at the pool of Bethesda)

Image: Unsplash/Laura Nyhuis

On it goes. We wait and wait; sometimes with anticipation and hope, sometimes in fear and dread. Sometimes our waiting can wear us down. Our waiting can often be compared to a walk in the dark. We must go through the darkness day by day, to get to the light. But think of the times in your own life when the trial did end, you got the call, the illness was healed, the baby was born, retirement arrived and the light did come. Is there a lesson here? Is there a cycle here that faith can alleviate? In most cases, the answer is yes! Of course, sometimes there is no happy ending and we must accept the inevitable death of our dreams, hopes and expectations.

Image: Unsplash/Jonathan Meyer

For me, the most difficult wait is the one where fear takes over our usually rational mind. My equilibrium is upset. My racing thoughts won’t cease and my mind takes over. It is said that the ego must always find something to nag us about. This is the time where a regular spiritual practice is important to my wellbeing. It is possible to let go of the ego mind even if it is temporary. I can centre myself in God’s presence and I can find my affirmations one more time and remember to say them. One of my favourites is, “ Let us abandon ourselves Into the heart of LOVE, for LOVE’s grace abides wherever we are.” I believe that this is what John the Baptist is telling us when he says to “make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Make way for that space within myself where peace resides. Because it does reside in each of us. And so we pray, pray, pray.

And let us be comforted in hope by the words from Isaiah: “he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” Be comforted by the words in scripture and in the beautiful music that is available to us. And finally, St. Peter has some words of wisdom for us:

Image: Unsplash/Tamara Menzi

“ Therefore, Beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace.”

( 2 Peter 3, 8-14)

- Marg Maheu, Associate

Prepare The Way

“Prepare the Way”. This familiar Advent refrain wakes us up from our everyday complacency and evokes in us a much deeper interior challenge and invitation. As our preparations for Christmas get underway these early December days, thoughts often turn to plans for setting up home decorations, baking goodies, writing cards, creating gifts, singing carols, and finding ways to help those less fortunate.

What if… all of these actions flowed from minds and hearts radically transformed in the Great Love and Divine Light of the Prince of Peace? 

What if… the coming of God in 2022 meant seeing and hearing the Divine compassion lifting up the wearied, poor and broken-hearted?

What if… you were that prophetic voice, authentic witness, bringing the Good News to life anew?   

In days of old, John the Baptizer, an austere hermit, came forth from the desert of Judea and began to preach on the banks of the Jordan River. Awakened by his unique calling, John embraced being the humble forerunner, the prophet sent to prepare the way, mandated with the mission to announce that the day was drawing nearer. Prepare your hearts. Soften the divisions and break down the barriers, roll out the carpet for the expectant arrival of the King of Peace. John proclaims a way of justice and peace and love is coming upon the earth. The new WAY was going to be given in the person of Jesus, the Christ. John was chosen to bear witness and proclaim that the One who is coming was greater than he and “he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” into a brand new way of seeing and being.

“Jesus ...the One who came to heal broken hearts, to give peace and to lead us further into the truth”

From his pulpit on the river banks, he called for repentance and baptized people in the river waters. John’s repentance, metanoia, meant having a radical change in one's thinking. It meant seeing the world in a completely different way and embracing a whole new set of values. He was the “voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” John pointed to Jesus as the One who came to heal broken hearts, to give peace and to lead us further into the truth. We can only imagine John’s surprise when Jesus just "showed up" in the crowd by the river one day and asked John to baptize him.

Photo of Pope Francis by Eric Gay/Associated Press, July 26, 2022.

This image of our humbled and repentant Pope Francis alone in prayer by the shores of Lac Ste. Anne in Alberta is a striking prophetic, healing voice in our time. On July 26, it is estimated that 10,000 pilgrims gathered at or around the lake to witness his words and actions that day. Both Indigenous and Church elders challenge all of us to “Prepare the Way” for God’s love and healing mercy to restore hearts through conversion and reconciliation. Pope Francis traveled to Canada on this “pilgrimage of penance” to apologize to Indigenous peoples for the abuses committed by the Catholic Church and its missionaries in our country’s notorious residential schools. When Pope Francis ‘showed up’ on our Canadian shores, the crowds mingled in sharing stories with gestures of welcoming and generosity, supporting the healing and hope long awaited.   

How are you preparing the way for God’s coming? The challenge of repentance is to put on the mind and heart of Christ. It must begin with the truth: if there are old wounds and potholes in your heart, take courage, face the consequences of hardening the arteries and energies of loving, seek restoration and communion. If your mind is cluttered and disturbed by its righteous opinions, take courage, face the consequences of division and disharmony, seek wisdom and right relationship with all.  

Advent challenges us to spend time in solitary prayer asking God to comfort, restore, and heal those bumps and bruises that life’s circumstances have caused. The new highway of world peace is being paved with good intentions, right actions for systemic justice and nonviolent communication. It is coming slowly but it is coming. It is for each one of us to play our part.

-Sister Rosemary O’Toole, CSJ

Second Sunday in Advent: Answering the Call

Answering the Call

All three readings for the Second Sunday in Advent have a common theme of being called. Each of them expresses a definite call and an invitation to change. Baruch’s call, in chapter 5 of the Old Testament is to put on a new garment, “a robe of righteousness and a crown of eternal glory”. There is also a call to come together in unity. His recognition of the power of God to assist in the change is shown as God brings his people from bondage to level ground to a place fragrant with the scent of cedars.

In the second reading, in Philippians 1:3-11, the call is a need to grow in prayer. There also is an acknowledgment of the good already accomplished. However, there is a further call in the form of a challenge to continue in love as overflowing, a deepening in knowledge and insight.

The call in St. Luke’s Gospel is a familiar one as heard every year during Advent. It is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.”  Without doubt, this calls for work to be done which may begin in the deepest recesses in the self or it might be a place of darkness or light. Blame cannot be placed on what we have inherited or from where we have come. The work is there for us to do. We may need to seek help. Nothing says that we must work alone. God gives the challenge and is present if called upon.

John the Baptist issues the final urgent call when he insists, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”  This is the call to LOVE.

As we allow the self to be touched, encouragement is at hand. The Advent Gospel proclaims:

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low

and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough ways made smooth

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

By Sister Caroline Bering, csj

Photo credit: ignation .ca

Advent 2

Comfort, O comfort my people… (Isaiah 40,1)

As we begin this second week of Advent the words of Isaiah seem to be written for our times.  We look around the world today and everyone is suffering pain or loss along with uncertainty, and fear.   Is there some wisdom for us in this season of Advent?  How is God speaking to us at this time? 

The word that emerges during this time Advent is longing.  I hear myself or others express that we long to return to normal, we long to gather with family and friends, we long to travel again, we long to gather as faith communities and many other longings felt day by day. And wait…

These longings although not always pleasant, help us recognize what is important in our lives, and waiting for them is itself a manifestation that is God is with us.  We can ask that we recognize God’s spirit of Hope and Light and ease our anxiety and fear during these dark days of this global pandemic.  Strangely our longing comes from wanting more and understanding that we have enough.  We see how the mystery of God works within us and around us.

The Celebration of Christmas recalls the birth of Jesus.  However, it draws not to the past but invites us to see how God is present with us now.  The gift of the Incarnation once again invites us to welcome Love who brings true dignity and security by embracing all and enriching all.  This season calls us to share justly and celebrate joyfully. Blessings these Advent days!

-Sister Joan Atkinson, csj