Spiritual Connections

This coming Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. We culminate our Church year celebrating Jesus as a direct descendant of King David.  Interestingly we soon follow preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  The new Church year begins with Advent.  There are four weeks of this season when we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas. 

The readings for the First Sunday in Advent call us to be alert in waiting for the coming of the Lord. The readings beg the Lord to return to us and save us. The psalm also asks God to look upon us and have mercy, whilst we are called to remain steadfast in our discipleship.  Then in the gospel, Jesus warns us to be watchful, for not everyone will be ready in the final hour.

Advent is a time of spiritual preparation that begins with an awareness of our own longing and leads us to a deeper openness to the many gifts God wants to give us. As we prepare for Christ’s birth we reflect on a different spiritual gift for each week of Advent. 

In this second reflection our theme centres around a words of comfort. Take the time for inner preparation, carrying out all the other demands of the season is bound to be more enjoyable. May you have a blessed Advent.

Originally published in Finding God. Now also available at Loyola Press.

Brisbane Liturgy ©:ADVENT

Week Two of Advent:  

God's Words of Comfort 

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.A voice cries out: In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 40:1-5.

In early adulthood I began to find Christmas a great letdown. People talk about the magic of Christmas. At that time in my life, the magic seemed to have disappeared. Christmas began to seem like just any other day, only one with a lot of additional obligations and emotional demands. 

Ironically, my sense of holiday malaise began to ease when I accepted that Christmas is, in one respect, just like any other day. That is, I can recognize the coming of Christ into my life and into my heart at any moment, on any and every day. Christ's coming wasn't limited to that one single day when “the magic” had to happen. In fact I came to realize that this wasn't about magic at all, but about reality. The true meaning of Christmas is grounded in the profound revelation that God so loves us that he chose to dwell among us both in Bethlehem and today right in our families. I came to see how, in Isaiah's words, “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed” whenever I am willing to prepare the way of the Lord into my life. For me, making a straight path in the wasteland usually has to do with quieting my mind and opening my heart.

The gift for the second week of Advent is that God speaks a reassuring word of comfort in the midst of our discontent and longing. In this quiet season—a season we tend to fill up with a lot of noise and frantic activity—make time daily to listen for the comforting words of God in your life. Probably the quickest way to begin hearing those words is to create a daily gratitude list. Set aside five minutes each morning or evening and take a few deep breaths.

When you are settled, start jotting down whatever comes to your mind that you are grateful for. With a heart full of gratitude, everything else in our lives will change. We will begin to see, even in the demands of our Christmas preparations, the real purpose of those efforts—celebrating the Lord's arrival in our life and the lives of those we love.

Theme: God Speaks Words of Comfort​

The prophet Isaiah spoke God's words to the Jewish people in the midst of their exile in Babylon between 597 and 537 B.C. Their lives were shattered, the Temple had been destroyed and the memory of it was fading among their children. In the midst of a discouraging time came words of comfort. God speaks words of comfort to us today. We can only hear them if we are open to listening. They are not the words of false comfort that everything will somehow turn out for the best. They are words that come to us in the midst of our pain and confusion. They will lead us to an even greater sense of God's presence in our lives and in our families.

Dom Poppa 

Dear Lord

We pray for a bright and just shared future for all who call Australia home. We ask that Your grace of acceptance and compassion will guide us. Let the Creator Spirit lead our journey with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of this land. May we share Your Spirit more deeply; celebrate the gifts You have given us. Help us appreciate true harmony and peace just as our Old People did; Keep us strong, make us resilient and remember us in this time. Now is an opportunity to change our Nation’s history for the better. Walk with us as we write a new chapter together and may we be one in Your love. 

Amen.