1 DEC
December 9
The Inn with No Room: Recognising Christ in the Margins
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7
Reflection
Christ entered our world on the margins. No place at the inn, cradled in a manger, and greeted not by kings, but by shepherds. Today, He is still turned away in war-torn cities, refugee camps, and detention centres. He looks at us through the eyes of a child fleeing violence, a mother torn from her family at a border, or the homeless person passed by without a glance. Wherever poverty strips people of their dignity, Christ waits—standing at the door, longing to be welcomed.
St. Francis of Assisi saw Christ most clearly in those the world cast aside. He chose a life of poverty and solidarity, recognising the face of Christ in the poor, the broken, and the forgotten. His radical response to the Gospel was to make space where there was none. Inspired by his witness, we too are called to shift our focus—from comfort and privilege to compassion and simplicity. In doing so, we learn to see Christ not in power, but in vulnerability.
Br Finnian SSF
Guest Brother at Alnmouth Friary
Reflective Action
CHRISTMAS CRIB
Place “something broken “ into your Christmas crib.
Franciscan Quote
Though he was rich, he wished, together with the most Blessed Virgin, his mother,
to choose poverty in the world beyond all else.
(Later Admonition and Exhortation 5)
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You were born in poverty
and laid in a manger.
Open our hearts to see you
in the poor and the forgotten.
Help us walk with humility,
love with courage,
and make room
where there is none.
CULTURAL insight
GAZA
This year, I will once again place rubble in the manger: shards of stone where straw should lie.
It felt like a prayer too deep for words, a cry carried across borders and centuries.
I cannot look at Bethlehem without seeing Gaza, cannot look at Mary without seeing mothers fleeing airstrikes, clutching babies to their breasts.
The Christ-child comes not to sanitised stables but to bombed-out buildings and border camps.
In the rubble, I see Emmanuel, God with us, still arriving among the displaced, still wrapped in vulnerability.
This is no sentimental nativity.
It is a holy reckoning.
And still, somehow, it is hope.
Sound and Wonder
“The Word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”
Luke 2:7
developmental markers
week 17
In the womb
- Size: 13 cm (5 inches), about the size of a pomegranate
- Weight: ~140 grams (5 ounces)
- Baby can hear mother’s heartbeat and external vibrations
- Stronger skeletal growth; baby may suck thumb
in the mother
- Movements (quickening) may be felt for the first time
- Growing belly, fuller sense of “presence”
- Increased emotional bonding through sounds and movement
reflection
Ears are developing rapidly.
Although external sounds are muffled, the mother’s heartbeat can be heard, voice, and rhythms of her life.
Totally connected yet not through sight yet, but through sound: heart to heart.
Similarly, our faith may begin not with seeing clearly but hearing and wondering.
The Word of God is spoken into us: whispered in prayer, sung in hope, breathed through Scripture.
Christ is the Word made flesh and the sound of His life calls us toward Him, even before we fully understand.
wonderings:
I wonder what it’s like to hear someone’s voice and know you are loved
I wonder what voice you are tuning your heart to this Advent?
Journaling Prompts
If you keep an Advent Journal, here are some ideas you could write about;
Imagine: You are the innkeeper.
It’s late. The house is full.
A knock at the door. A poor couple.
A young woman in labour.
You pause. What do you say?
Write briefly:
What is taking up space in the “inn” of your heart today? Who or what might be knocking, asking for room? What one small way can you make space for Christ in the margins this Advent?
Gaza
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