In Advent we celebrate the coming and indeed the presence of Christ in our world. We witness to His presence even in the midst of all its inscrutable problems and tragedies. Our Advent faith is not an escape from the world to a misty realm of slogans and comforts which declare our problems to be unreal, our tragedies inexistent. — Thomas Merton in Seasons of Celebration
“Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times, few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”—Sydney J. Harris
We are obliged to love one another. We are not strictly bound to ‘like’ one another. Love governs the will: ‘liking’ is a matter of sense and sensibility. Nevertheless, if we really love others it will not be too hard to like them also. If we wait for some people to become agreeable or attractive before we begin to love them, we will never begin. — Thomas Merton (No Man Is an Island, pp. 178-179)
May the sounds of Advent stir a longing in your people, O God. Come again to set us free from the dullness of routine and the poverty of our imaginations. Break the patterns which bind us to small commitments and to the stale answers we have given to questions of no importance. Let the Advent trumpet blow, let the walls of our defenses crumble, and make a place in our lives for the freshness of your love, well-lived in the Spirit, and still given to all who know their need and dare receive it. Amen” (The Mood of Christmas).
“Inequality is so entrenched in our global society that it can start to feel natural that billions of people don’t have access to quality health care. It’s not natural, it’s morally wrong, and it must be fixed. Childhood is often a death sentence for lack of blood banks, or that treatable illnesses, like diarrhea, kill thousands of children every day is an emergency on a global scale.”—Partners in Health
Verse of the day
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
– Luke 1:52-53
Voice of the day
The truth is powerful and will prevail.
– Sojourner Truth
Prayer of the day
Our spirits rejoice in your truth, God our Savior. May your will be done on earth, and may we participate in its coming.
“Be realistic and do the impossible, because if we don’t do the impossible, we face the unthinkable.”—Murray Bookchin
“I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, ‘Mother, what was war?’”—Eve Merriam, poet & writer (1916-1992)
“(T)here is nothing more majestic than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for their freedom and dignity.”—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, from King: A Life by Jonathan Eig, p. 142
Advent reflections: When Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, meet during their pregnancies, they rejoice in the ending of Empire and its oppression of the lowly under which they live at that time with the Roman occupation of Judea Mary sings a revolutionary song to Elizabeth, known as…
— Read on herbstonejr.com/advent-reflections/22/
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