Finding Light


As the days grow shorter and darkness envelops us for longer periods, the gloom sometimes invades our attitudes. Most of us need light to lift our spirits. During this Advent time, where can we find light to keep us going?

Certainly there are many lights in the Christmas trees and shopping malls that spring up early all around us. But, that flashy kind of light is not what we need as winter closes in. We are looking for lights of serenity and peace to fill these dark days. 

One custom that can be uplifting is the Advent wreath, with its four candles to mark the four weeks before Christmas. As we light the candles and prepare for Christ’s coming again into our world, we are reminded of how God’s love and the love of family and friends warms our spirits. Even those who are no longer with us can comfort us with memories of their goodness.

Another custom in some families is making homemade gifts of cookies and sweet breads. Some also make knitted scarves and sweaters. Even if we are not able to make tangible gifts, we might draw a picture or write a poem. It usually makes our hearts glow when we think of the joy this will bring to our loved ones.

Some of us might find peace just sitting in quiet prayer and being grateful for the blessings of the past year. Even if we experienced sickness or loss, we might be thankful for improvement or find comfort in the blessings we still have. May we take time during this Advent season to find beams of light in the darkness. 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Limping to God I come to you, God, weather-beaten and limping, asking for forgiveness for all the times I have failed to be faithful and attentive to all those around me, especially the elderly who have run the race, the poor, the lonely and abandoned, who need my care and concern.     Is there any hope for these old bones? What will it take to change my limp into a surge of energy and a ready step? Teach me to become more caring, more responsive, more aware. Give me eyes to see and the will to act on my good intentions.   Water my dried up spirit and shriveled body, expand my shrunken heart. Give me eyes to see what you are leading me to do even as my bones creak and my legs become unsteady. Make me remember that I am here to serve, to listen, to be ready to be your hands and feet today.   Barbara Mayer, OSB    
Read more
Image
    “Wonderfully Made” When I took a college English course, our first assignment was to write an essay about whether we would rather lose our sight or lose our legs. It was a thought-provoking choice. If we became blind, we would miss seeing our loved ones and all the beauty of our world. If we could not walk, we would be hindered from traveling and moving around without help. I chose to keep my eyesight since I love to read and write and enjoy the variety and beauty that surrounds us.   Of course, I’m glad I didn’t have to make that choice in real life, but it was a thought-provoking assignment. It made me think about how much we take our bodies for granted. I began to think about all the organs, veins, arteries, canals, nerves, and bones we have in our bodies and how they all work together to keep us alive and healthy. It is not until we lose one of them that we realize how magnificent we are, created in the “image and likeness of God.” God loves each and every one of us as if
Read more
Image
  Overcoming Discouragement Sometimes discouragement and failure take over our lives, and we cannot seem to crawl out of our hole. Even if in reality they are not a true picture, we can be blinded by the seeming darkness.  It often takes another person to uncover what is hidden from us and to see through the cloudy picture.  I am reminded of a story about Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He tells of how he felt his dream of starting a group for people with drinking problems was not going anywhere. Then unexpectedly Father Dowling, a disheveled priest, came to his door in the middle of a snowstorm. Bill’s caretaker told him that a “damn bum” was at the door. Bill was tired but agreed to see him and in doing so had his “second conversion experience.” Bil and Father Dowling talked way into the night, and Bill told of his “high hopes and plans, and spoke about his anger, despair and mounting frustrations.”  It turned out that the elderly priest had had similar feel
Read more