A message from Brother Samuel SSF
There’s an icon of the incarnation at the Church of The Annunciation, Marble Arch, with the words in Greek, ‘More Spacious than the Heavens’. It’s a phrase which emphasises Mary’s making room for the unbounded God who makes room for us – in creation, in choosing Israel and giving land/space to his people, and above all in coming to be with us in Jesus. The God who finds room among us as the child of Bethlehem is an hospitable God. This two-way giving and receiving of hospitality is reflected in the latin root, ‘hospes’, which can mean either host or guest. We see it practiced in Jesus’ ministry where the hospitality which Jesus accepts to eat with sinners/outsiders (cf the story of Zacchaeus) is the way that they(we) come to discover a welcome at the banquet of God’s Kingdom. We enter into this exchange ourselves in the Eucharist in which Jesus is both our host and our guest. (There’s a lovely saying from interfaith dialogue that ‘if you want to learn how to be a good host you first need to discover how to be a guest’).
We see this exchange of hospitality in Francis’ life – in his opening himself to the outcast, in his knowledge of himself as a lesser brother, in his entering into the court of the Sultan, in his attentiveness to and delight in every creature as bearing ‘the imprint of his Beloved’. Above all. we see it in his embrace of Lady Poverty and in his humility and obedience – a surrender of territory in order to make room for the Other however and wherever encountered. The story of Francis’ celebrating the Christmas stable and crib at Greccio in 1223 – where, as Thomas of Celano writes, Greccio became as it were ‘another Bethlehem’, has ever since then been a witness to the One who seeks room among us in order that we may find room with Him.
This Advent may we ourselves, our homes, our churches, become ‘another Bethlehem’.
An Advent Journey of “Hope, Mercy, and Joy”
Advent is a sacred season of making room, for ourselves, for others, and for God.
It is a time of preparation, not just in our homes but in our hearts. Just as Mary created space within her very body to carry the Christ-child, and St. Francis found space among people and in the solitude of caves to be close to God, so too are we invited to make room for Christ in our lives.
To make space is to surrender… to let go of distractions, clutter, and noise so that something new can be born. It is an invitation to trust, to allow God to enter our lives in ways we may not expect. It is also an act of hospitality… to welcome Christ as He comes to us in the stranger, the vulnerable, the forgotten.
A child in the womb
Advent is also a season of growth and preparation, mirroring the nine months that Christ was carried in Mary’s womb. Just as pregnancy is a time of mystery, anticipation, and transformation, so too is our Advent journey. It’s a time to create space within us for Christ to grow.
Mary’s womb was the first tabernacle of Christ, the first place where God made his dwelling among us (John 1:14). In those months of unseen, quiet development, God’s greatest act of love was unfolding – not in a palace, but within the body of a young woman who made space for him.
As we move through the 25 days of Advent, we can intentionally reflect on the journey of Christ in the womb, in utero, and use it to ponder our spiritual preparation. Each stage of a baby’s development in the womb can serve as a meditation on how we prepare for new life in our lives.
Contents in this site
In the Advent section of this website you will find resources from across the Provinces to help you individually and collectively to Create Space. Throughout December we prepare not just to celebrate the Incarnation but to prepare our hearts for a year long journey of outward facing mission and spiritual renewal as we mark the legacy of 800 years since Francis’ death in October 2026.
This resource reminds us of the different cultural environments in which we are called to serve. We also hear from people across the Order of what it means for them to create space for Christ. We find journalling prompts and opportunities for our own reflections. There are quotes from our historic Franciscan legacy to ponder. There is a section to encourage us to reflect on “Mary the God-bearer” as we, like her, make space in our lives for Christ.
You can use the resources by yourselves or with others.
There are also notes for a weekly advent group. You may wish to invite people outside our Franciscan family to “Make Room“ with you this Advent.
We have also included some intergenerational resources to use with others… and focusing on “Making Room” as an act of Hospitality.
We ask is that each of us spend time this December listening deeply and making room in our lives.
