Mike Scott – Open
1 DEC
December 10
Meals as Acts of Love
“They recognised him in the breaking of the bread.”
Luke 24:35
Reflection
Sharing a meal is one of the simplest, yet most powerful ways to build relationships.
Who needs to be invited to your table?
There is a lovely children’s song about the story of the meeting of Jesus with Zacchaeus the feared tax collector, when he had climbed up into a tree to see Jesus and Jesus implores him to come down – for I’m coming to your house for tea!’
That is one of a number of occasions when we hear of Jesus enjoying eating and drinking at the homes of friends, ordinary people rather than the rich and famous.
In my experience offering hospitality has become less frequent since the Covid epidemic, when we were forced to remain in our own homes and not meet with neighbours and friends. Perhaps now is the time for us to reach out again as individuals and as church families to those in our fellowships and communities who for whatever reason, would appreciate a coffee and chat, a listening ear maybe, or by taking the opportunity over a meal, to introduce newcomers, enabling new friendships to be forged. Why not bring joy into the lives of
others by offering hospitality?
Sue Holmes TSSF
European Province
Reflective Action
SET AN EMPTY PLATE
Today or this week, set an extra place at your table… even if you’re eating alone.
Let it be a quiet act of welcome for Christ in the stranger, the lonely, the forgotten.
As you eat, pray for those with no table of their own, and ask God to
enlarge your heart to receive the unexpected guest.
You might say aloud: “Christ, be my guest. Love, be my light. All who hunger, come and be filled.”
Franciscan Quote
Listen my brothers: If the Blessed Virgin is so honoured, as is becoming, because she carried Him in her most holy womb…..how holy, just and fitting must be he who touches with his hands, receives in his heart and mouth, and offers to others to be received the One Who is not about to die but Who is to conquer and be glorified, upon Whom the angels longed to gaze.
(A letter to the Entire Order 21)
Prayer
God of Welcome,
you come in need,
not splendour.
Make every meal holy,
every open seat
a place for you.
Teach me to welcome you
in each guest.
CULTURAL insight
Poland
POLAND
On Christmas Eve, our table glows with candlelight, and always – always – there’s one extra plate set.
It’s not a mistake.
It’s for the unexpected guest, the stranger, the soul who might knock, or simply be held in our hearts.
In Poland, we call this Wigilia – a sacred supper of waiting and welcome.
As we share opłatek and stories, that empty place reminds me: Christ came not as a king, but as a guest with no place to stay.
So we keep watch, honouring the mystery that every knock at the door might be holy.
In our waiting, we make room – for love to arrive.
Listening for the Whisper of God
“Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’”
Luke 24:35
developmental markers
week 18
In the womb
- About 14 cm long (5.5 inches), around the size of a sweet potato
- Ears are fully formed—baby begins to hear sounds from inside and outside the womb
- Nervous system is maturing; baby may respond to loud noises with movement
- The baby’s fingerprints are well established
- Myelin (protective coating) begins forming around nerves
- Sleep and wake cycles start to develop
in the mother
- May feel first real flutters of movement (quickening)
- Uterus is about the size of a cantaloupe
- Increased awareness of the baby as a person
- May feel both more connected and more vulnerable
- Possible aches in lower back or hips as body adjusts
- Deeper reflections on the baby’s future and spiritual meaning of motherhood may arise
reflection
This week marks a turning point. In the quiet of the womb, the baby begins to hear the mother’s heartbeat, the stir of life within, the muffled sounds of the world beyond. The womb becomes not just a place of shelter, but of encounter. The baby listens, attuning to life before it can fully understand it.
For the mother, these days may bring the first real flutters of movement, small signs of life stirring within. Alongside this joy may come deeper questions, a growing awareness of vulnerability and hope.
What will this life become? What does it mean to carry such a mystery?
This is the way Christ entered the world –hidden, listening, drawing near. Even before the cry in Bethlehem, Jesus was already present, already attentive to the heartbeat of creation.
Advent calls us to listen, too. To pause and notice the quiet signs of God’s presence all around us. Like the child in the womb, we are invited to attune our hearts to the whisper of God believing that Christ is near, waiting to be heard, waiting to be received.
wonderings:
I wonder what it sounds like in the womb
I wonder how we can learn to hear God the way a baby listens in the womb
I wonder what sounds of love or peace are forming us right now
Journaling Prompts
If you keep an Advent Journal, here are some ideas you could write about;
Today take time with your journal. Let your pen become a place of prayer and reflection:
Who needs to be invited to your table… literally or metaphorically. What does “breaking bread” look like in your life right now?
When have you experienced a meal as an act of healing, friendship, or unexpected grace?
How might you offer hospitality this Advent even in simple, creative, or quiet ways?
Write honestly. Dream gently.
And let your journalling become a table in itself where Christ might just be waiting, already seated, already smiling.
January 15, 2026
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