Deacon Tom Writes
“To you, O Lord, I lift my
soul”
In
the silence of our Advent reflection, the words of the Prophet Jeremiah can
stir our hearts with expectant hope and longing for promises to be fulfilled,
for the days when, “all shall be safe and
dwell secure”. For this to become a reality we must first, however, place
ourselves in the presence of the Lord and breath the prayer we hear in the
Responsorial Psalm today, “To you, O
Lord, I lift my soul”.
Every
year we all face the challenge of Advent; we need to get everything ready for
Christmas, the shopping, the cooking, the visits to family and friends, the
writing out of Christmas cards. And when do we stop to put it all in
perspective and reflect upon the “Reason
for the Season?”
This
year can be different. We can
break the distracting spirit of consumerism….if we want to! We can take
a tip from St. Paul and ask the Lord to make us, “increase and abound in love for one another and for all”. How our
lives would change! So some questions to ask during this Holy Season are
these: What holds us back? What
prevents us from seeking the Holy or entering into the mystery of the
Incarnation? Are we afraid of the changes that an injection of love into the fabric
of our lives would cause? Are we afraid of what the newborn Babe would ask of
us? Are we afraid of the confrontation with self that can take place in the time
we spend in holy solitude? There are a lot of reasons why we avoid silence and
fill our lives with busyness. But it doesn’t have to be this way. This year can
be different!!!
Jesus
tells us to, “Be vigilant at all times
and pray… to escape the tribulations….and to stand before the Son of Man”. This
Advent gives us another chance to renew our efforts to center our lives around
prayer and to create a quiet space where we can go and rest awhile with a
friend, Jesus, who comes to us as a little child bearing many gifts to all who
come before him singing the refrain, “To
you, O Lord, I lift my soul.”
Enjoy
the day!
Deacon
Tom