The Advent Season: ’In the beginning was the Word’

“In the beginning was the Word.” Those timeless words begin the Gospel of John. Imagine God at home in us! What a mystery, and what a gift! 

For four short weeks in every celebration of the Church year we keep vigil. We wait, we listen, we pray. We wait for a God who first came as a small, tender and vulnerable infant. God, creator of the whole universe, came in weakness. Not a spectacle or a power play, but a child and then a man of Nazareth who came to transform us and our world to see God’s great deeds in our time so we can look forward to the time when He will come again. Advent is now and forever, a time of joyful waiting and joyful giving. Advent speaks to our heart. The liturgy of these four weeks calls to reality the God hidden in each of us. With Mary, Mother of Jesus, we also can say our yes to God’s Word, over and over, because Jesus comes to us in ways we cannot imagine.

Be ready. Listen. Pray.

The One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes.  

Phil.1:6; Scripture inspiration to I Am the Way, Loretto’s Constitutions, pg. 4

Advent is a time to remember our beginning in the heart of God. In Loretto, Advent has been a season of many themes – waiting, watching, listening. One of the most challenging themes is the idea of “being still.” Wait on the gifts and cookies, wait on the house cleaning, wait on the Christmas cards. In stillness beats the heart of God. Sit for a few moments every morning, take a walk in the neighborhood, watch for the sun to rise. Just for a moment. Sit. Wait. Every day.

Quietly, daily, sometimes together, sometimes alone, we turn to God, praying as the Spirit moves our hearts and lives.  

I Am the Way, Loretto’s Constitutions, #43