Catholic Faith | Advent | Grandpa's Garden | catholic family life
It’s interesting how often we follow routines around holidays and holy days. Families have traditional ways of decorating, menus for shared meals, and seating arrangements. There is something comforting about the ways we have come to celebrate important events together. Yet, with any celebration, change is in the air.
I don’t think things are ever “the same” year to year, celebration to celebration, or day to day. It might seem that way, but we constantly change, we grow, history unfolds, our children grow up, they bring their families to gatherings, and so on. God’s Spirit fills the earth, gives life, and embraces our hearts with the life-changing grace of His presence.
We sometimes place the Advent wreath on the dining table, light the candles, and silently let the light enfold us. We speak no words. We recollect a life of blessings, enjoy the moment, and wait for what the Lord will ask of us next.
Seeking God's Will
In the Gospel reading of Gaudete Sunday, I happened to focus on the question posed to John the Baptizer by the crowds who went out to the Jordan shore to listen to him. John called for repentance, and the crowd asked, “What then should we do” (Luke 3:10b)?
Perhaps we can make this our question. We can draw on the depths of our Faith, Advent expectations, and family life. We can ask the Lord to help form our answer with His Wisdom, Love, and gift of Himself. It is His will we seek.
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Hope Never Disappoints
The liturgical readings of Advent and Christmas offer us a variety of voices, messages, and life-changing responses. We find prophets, angels, magi, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and others. We may discover that the stories revitalize our Hope. The words and images can form the foundation of our prayer in this holy season. We let the reading lead us to the source of our Hope, the vitality of our Love, and the meaning of our Faith.
“The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)
As Advent reaches its climax, let us pray for the light of Hope.
A bittersweet goodbye. We are so grateful to John Dacey for his inspirational reflections for these many years!
From John: This is the 118th posting of “In Grandpa’s Garden,” and it concludes the series. I’ve been blessed and delighted that the feature has run this long. I am deeply grateful to the blog readers and everyone at Holy Cross Family Ministries for their prayerful support and encouragement.