Daily Reflections ...

The season of Advent is a privileged time. Over the coming days, we will sit with many of the Old Testament prophets, including John the Baptist and Mary as we long for the coming of the Messiah. I can remember as a boy at boarding school in Charters Towers, actually smelling the rain coming after many long, hot, dry days. Even though I am not a farmer, I found myself longing for that smell, then the build-up of clouds and then, at long last, the beautiful sound of rain on the tin roof.

Longing is what is at the heart of Advent. Today, Jeremiah refers to ‘fulfilling the promise I made to the house of Israel’ and the coming of one who shall ‘execute justice and righteousness in the land!’ Advent, is therefore, personal. It is about preparing our hearts to welcome the longed for one. This longing is not foreign to us. For nine months, women long for the day of birthing. We long for a wedding day or, for us Religious, a Profession Day.

Luke’s almost poetic description of the sun, moon, and stars and the powers of the heavens are shaken. But Advent is not looking for and longing for some extraordinary cataclysmic event. The writer Paul D’Arcy says, ‘God comes to us disguised as our lives!’ So, over these Advent weeks, let’s not busy ourselves looking for gold, frankincense, and myrrh but ready our hearts through prayer so that our eyes and hearts change. Then, when we gather to celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, at Christmas, we will see that same Emmanuel all around and within us.

By Br Damien Price cfc