1 DEC
December 13
Welcoming Christ in silence and hopes
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
Reflection
During this Advent, as the Third Order, let us choose to embrace the silence that the world tries so desperately to fill with noise. Let us strive to remain vigilant in prayer while the rest of the world dozes off in apathy. Let us wipe away resentment and fear so as to make room for hope and peace.
Let us relinquish the need to hold onto grudges so to make room for forgiveness. Let us put self-centredness aside so that the loving self-sacrifice of Christ may easily take root within us: in our heart.
Creating a hospitable space welcomes the One who, as a vulnerable child, comes seeking the open heart instead of a palace.
It allows the Spirit to enlarge our compassion, our capacity for mercy, to make us the bearers of light in the shadowy portions of this world.
As we light each candle on the Advent wreath, may it mark and revive the memories that light increases as we remove the obstacles that hinder it. May the simplicity of the stable lead us back to the essentials of our faith: humility, joy, and the radical love of our Incarnate Lord.
Michael Twum-Darko TSSF
Africa Province
Reflective Action
SING A SONG OF LIGHT
Today, sing a carol or hymn, quietly or alone.
Let it rise as a prayer of hope in dark times.
Invite someone to sing with you or play music together.
As you sing, imagine your voice joining a great circle of praise across our world and silent hearts.
Franciscan Quote
The people that gather for the holy festivities fill the church, bring candles and torches, while incense breathes Forth it scent. After matins, the Mass of the Feast Is celebrated. Francis it is who reads the Gospel In sweet-toned melody; and then when the people are seated, He gives them a sermon, and softens the hearts that were hardened, And out of hard rock causes rivers to flow.
(The versified Life of St Francis by Henri d’Avranches 11th Book 100-105.)
Prayer
Christ,
Light in our Darkness,
in this long night of the year,
let my voice join with others in hope.
Fill my silence with your song,
and my home with your peace.
Shine through me with joy,
that I may carry your light to others.
CULTURAL insight
FINLAND
Singing together is central to Finnish Advent and Christmas traditions. On the First Sunday of Advent, churches fill with people gathering to sing the beloved Hoosianna hymn – making it one of the most popular Sundays in the Church year.
In the weeks before Christmas, communities come together in churches, halls, and even pubs to sing The Most Beautiful Christmas Carols. This tradition, originally begun to support mission work, now draws people simply to share in the atmosphere of Finnish winter Christmas – snow, candles, and light shining in the darkness.
Most Finnish Christmas songs reflect this wintry beauty and the quiet hope that comes with it. Christmas is celebrated in the darkest season of the year, which makes it, for many, the most loved Christian feast. It offers comfort and joy to those walking through their own valleys of darkness – made a little lighter by singing together.
Olavi Heino TSSF
Finland
Stretching Toward Love
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back.”
Joshua 24:15
developmental markers
week 21
In the womb
- 27 cm (10.5 in), 350 grams;
- skin becoming less transparent;
- taste buds forming;
- stronger, more coordinated movement
in the mother
- Increased belly growth;
- baby’s movements are strong and consistent;
- possible breathlessness as organs shift
reflection
Marked by growth.
The limbs lengthen, movements become more deliberate, and the baby begins to stretch out in the womb.
Space is needed.
The mother’s body adjusts, expands, makes room.
This is the holy stretch of love.
In our lives love asks us to expand.
We are asked to stretch our hearts, our habits, our imaginations.
Advent calls us to prepare space, not only in the womb of the body but in the womb of the soul.
To love is to stretch – for Christ, or others, for new life.
wonderings:
I wonder where God is stretching me
I wonder how we make room for someone new in our hearts
Journaling Prompts
If you keep an Advent Journal, here are some ideas you could write about;
Today ask yourself:
What within me is taking up space where Christ longs to dwell?
Is it Resentment? Busyness? Fear?
What one thing can I release to make more room for hope, mercy, or light?
Write down the word or phrase that comes.
Write a simple prayer of invitation:
Come, Lord Jesus. There is room now in my life.
Finland
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