Reflections

ADVENT AS A PROCESS OF INTERNALIZATION AND GROWTH A child is in history and yet not fully historical; is and is not yet; is a microcosm of things to be; is a process of hope in action. Like a child, advent is a process of hope in action. With God’s ways as our guiding star…

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist felt called to proclaim the message of “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” so as to prepare people to receive the Messiah that is to come.   Like Israel in her exile— we are imprisoned by our own sinfulness and in need of restoration and conversion. The readings for this second…

Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like herself. Some were white, some were blue, some were pink, some were green. She had no idea why she was…

Advent Candles The Candle’s Example Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like herself. Some were white, some were blue, some were pink, some were green. She had…

Shades of fraternal concern . . . * * * * * * * * For some reasons, we are prone to take another in the community for granted as though each of us were a completely self-sufficient autonomous human person. We recount the local and world news to one another, we try our latest…

Have you noticed the LITTLE CHILD behind the Christmas decors? It could happen that we might miss the child Jesus, too, this Christmas if we allow ourselves to get caught up in the consumerism and the syrupy feelings of the Yuletide Season. onz, oar

Here is a story that we should reflect on throughout these weeks of Advent. Once there was a priest who was once telling a group of young children about Christmas. He described how Jesus was born in a cold, bleak stable-cave in the middle of winter. He emphasized how cold it was. There was no…

ADVENT AS PREPARATION The word advent comes from the Latin word ADVENIRE, ADVENTUS meaning to come. In its past participial form taken as a noun, its exact meaning is having come—with that nuance of the past lasting up to the present. When translated by the English word arrival, however, it assumes a specifically future aspect.…

  ADVENT AS PILGRIMAGE OF HOPE, FAITH AND LOVE   The biblical figures of Isaiah, Joh the Baptist and Mary synthesize advent.  Isaiah represents the Old Testament with the promise and vision of the future Messiah inspiring us to hope despite great odds and the seeming adverse twists and turns of history. John the Baptist represents…