1 DEC
December 14
Preparing the Prophets of today
“Go out quickly to the streets and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.”
Luke 14:21
Reflection
The prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures spoke clearly to the needs around them. Each with their own voice. They challenged corruption and gave reassurance to the oppressed. Liberation is at hand.
John the Baptist followed in the steps of these prophets. In a corrupt society he resisted the abuse of power, and he gave hope and new life to those who came out to him in the desert.
Who are our prophets today? They follow the footprints of those who went before them challenging power and proclaiming liberation.
We hear their voices speaking out against popularism in politics, against all that demeans others, against bullies.
We hear them speaking out for migrants and calling to justice those who stir up fear of “the other”.
They speak out too for creation giving voice to Mother Earth. And even in times of despair we hear them reminding us that God’s time and purposes are bigger. That ultimately God’s justice will prevail.
Christopher John SSF
Minister General
Reflective Action
REACH OUT
Today, reach out to someone who may feel overlooked.
Perhaps a neighbour, someone new at church, or a colleague.
Send a kind note, an invitation, or simply share a warm greeting.
Let your words be a candle of connection, an act of hospitality in the spirit of Advent.
As you do, quietly pray: “Christ, be near to those who feel far.”
Franciscan Quote
As usual, blessed Francis had John summoned to him some 15 days prior to the birthday of the Lord. “If you desire to celebrate the coming feast of the Lord together at Greccio,” he said to him, “hurry before me and carefully make ready the things I tell you. For I wish to enact the memory of that babe who was born in Bethlehem: to see as much as is possible with my own bodily eyes the discomfort of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and ass standing by, he rested on hay.”
(The Life of St Francis by Thomas of Celano, the First Book Chapter XXX, 84)
Prayer
Christ of every heart,
you came for the lonely
as well as the joyful.
Open my heart to
make room for others.
Help me see You in every face.
and welcome You with joy.
CULTURAL insight
In many French households, the nativity crib is not dismantled on 6 January—it stays until Candlemas. These cribs can cover a full sideboard and go far beyond the Holy Family, ox and donkey.
They include santons—small figures representing villagers who might have rushed to the stable had they heard the angels’ song: cobblers, bakers, weavers, shepherds, elders, even the village idiot (le Ravi). Each year, families may add a new figure to mark special occasions. This beloved tradition traces back to St Francis and his living crib at Greccio. As the friars spread the Gospel across Europe, the custom took root—especially in southern France, where entire villages joined in the re-enactment.
After the French Revolution closed churches and exiled priests, cribs moved into homes. Deprived of liturgy, faithful families improvised scenes to keep the story alive. By the early 19th century, Jean-Louis Lagnel of Marseilles began sculpting santons, launching a tradition that still thrives. A true Provençal nativity always includes “the Monk”—St Francis himself—patron saint of the crib-makers, the Santonniers, and of all who retell the story of the Word made flesh.
Françoise Pinteaux-Jones TSSF
open to the world
“My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations.”
Luke 14:21
developmental markers
week 22
In the womb
- Size: About 28 cm (11 in) long, about the size of a papaya
- Weighs around 450 grams (1 lb)
- Eyelids begin to open; baby can sense light and shadow
- Baby can respond to flavours in amniotic fluid; sense of touch continues to sharpen
- Kicks and rolls are stronger and more coordinated
- Skin is still thin but becoming less transparent;
- Fine hair (lanugo) continues to grow
in the mother
- Stronger awareness of baby’s movements (often described as rolling or fluttering)
- Body continues adapting—possible stretch marks, round ligament pain, and increased appetite
- Emotional sensitivity and spiritual reflection may increase
- Thoughts about birth, parenting, and the future often deepen
reflection
At this stage of waiting, something tender and astonishing begins to unfold. After weeks of growing in darkness, eyelids in the womb slowly begin to open. Though true sight is still some way off, the first flickers of light start to reach in through the darkness. Gentle touches, sunlight through a window, or the soft glow of a lamp are sensed in ways the world cannot yet see.
This quiet awakening mirrors the invitation of Advent. It’s the invitation to turn toward the light. In a season when the world often feels shadowed by uncertainty or restlessness, we are reminded that God’s light continues to break in, not with sudden clarity, but with flickers of hope and gentle revelation.
It takes courage to open our eyes. It takes courage to see not only what is clear and certain, but to notice what is forming in mystery. God invites us to open the eyes of our hearts to what is stirring within us, around us, and among us. To trust that even in hidden places, new life is taking shape, and light is already reaching into the dark. This is the hope of Advent: that God is preparing us to see again, to recognise the light that has never stopped shining, and to wonder at the world that is, even now, being made new.
wonderings:
I wonder what helps you notice something of light and sacred in an ordinary day
I wonder how we can help others feel seen and loved
Journaling Prompts
If you keep an Advent Journal, here are some ideas you could write about;
Take time today to reflect on the prophets you have heard or seen in your own life – those who speak truth with courage, who disturb the comfortable, who make space for the silenced.
Who is speaking up in your community for justice, mercy, and truth?
Have you ever heard a voice that woke something in you – anger, hope, conviction, courage? What did you do with it?
Where in your own life might you be called to speak, to resist, or to proclaim?
France
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