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Third Saturday in Advent
“‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.’”—Matthew 1:20b
For a short while after 9/11, people living in the terrorist “bull’s eye” of Washington, D.C. were encouraged to create a sealed room in their house with plastic wrap and duct tape. This was to protect them in the event of a chemical or biological weapons attack. The military surplus stores sold out of gas masks. Plastic sheeting and duct tape were soon rare commodities.
The frenzy appeared to be mostly among the middle class. The rich thought they were impervious to such danger. The poor figured they die anyway. But those in the middle rushed to protect themselves—caught between fear and the illusion of control.
Joseph also had the illusion of control. He controlled who came in and out of his house. He was the gatekeeper of his home. Tradition tells us that he was much older than Mary. He was “established.” He was also from the royal lineage of King David and yet had not produced an heir. When Joseph learned that Mary was already pregnant, he had little reason to continue with her. The lineage had to be kept pure. He didn’t need to invite this complication into his house. God knows what havoc it might wreak!
Joseph, however, like his namesake, was open to the importance of dreams. When the messenger entered Joseph’s dream and said “do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home,” he listened.
Who are you afraid to take into your home? Why? Do you see your home as gift to be shared or a right to be protected? Do you have possessions that are so precious they hinder hospitality? Have you ever had to “depend on the kindness of strangers”?
“O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and orderest all things mightily and sweetly, come to teach us the way of prudence!”
Breathe in. Breathe out. Ad…..vent.
With gratitude to Pax Christi USA where some of these reflections first appeared in print.
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Third Friday in Advent
“At Christmas, Christ is born in us. At Passiontide he suffers and dies in us. At Pentecost the flame of the love of the Spirit is kindled in us. Advent returns, Christ prepares to be born in to the world again in us.”—Caryll Houselander, woodcarver and mystic“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.”—Matthew 1:1-3a
Names. In traditional cultures, names are sacred and secret. A person’s name may change in their life to mark rites of passage. In oral cultures, names and genealogies are chanted from generation to generation.
Once, in Venezuela, I heard a schoolteacher tell this story about the success of their national literacy program. “There was a very old man who came to our classes. He had never learned to read. After he had learned to write the alphabet people saw him out wandering the hills going from house to house with a little scrap of paper and pencil stub. When asked what he was doing, he replied that he was collecting names. When asked why, he said ‘I have always wanted to learn to write down the names of his friends, so they will know how important they are to me.’”
What names are written on the leaves of your family tree?
We are now in the season of the ancient Christmas octave. In the monastic tradition, these are called the days of the “O” antiphons. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine, writes “these prayers describe quite clearly the type of leadership that marks the coming of the reign of God.” Savor them.
“O Shepherd that rulest Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep, come to guide and comfort us.”
Breathe in. Breathe out. Ad…..vent.
With gratitude to Pax Christi USA where some of these reflections first appeared in print..
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Third Thursday in Advent
SANCTUS by Elizabeth Wang “Jesus says to us ‘You are the light of the world.’ We have grown accustomed to Advent being the season of light, but let us agree to make this Advent a season of fire. Be consumed by the energy that dwells and is growing within. Let it burn in you. Let God use fire to purify the cosmos through you and make ready the Way of the Lord.”—Caryll Houselander, woodcarver and mystic
“‘What did you go out to the desert to see—a reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.’”—Luke 7: 24-26
Jesus is challenging the crowd—provoking them to push their questions deeper. Did they think they think John the Baptist out preaching in the desert was someone who they could use for their own political purposes—a reed swayed by the prevailing political winds? Did they think they would find someone preaching a prosperity gospel? If they sought either of these, then they should around and go home. If, however, they came seeking the word of God, then they should stay. In John they have found not only a prophet, but in the community around John there is one of whom John will say, “Behold! The Lamb of God.”
For most of his ministry, Jesus worked the edges of the field, the social and political margins. He gathered around him those who fell through the safety net; those for whom the institutions weren’t working; those forced to make do in the chaos of areas that had been abandoned by civilized society.
It was not because the people he found there were better or purer or more righteous or more innocent. It was because that’s what God told him to do. Travel writer and mystic Phil Cousineau says, “The purpose behind questions is to initiate the quest.” At some point in his life, Jesus asked a question.
What question directs your life?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Ad…..vent.
With gratitude to Pax Christi USA where some of these reflections first appeared in print..
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Third Wednesday in Advent
“Rabbi Heschel” by Pamela Chatterton-Purdy Advent is the season for acts of faith. It starts with the awareness of the presence of Christ within us. It is quite incredible to think that God is really present in me. “My God, I believe that you are within me.” This act of faith brings peace; it silences the noise of distraction; the loud business of fear. It is the stilling of the waters. It gathers our thoughts into a circle like a crown of flowers; it crowns us with peace.—Caryll Houselander, woodcarver and mystic
“I am the LORD, there is no other; I form the light, and create the darkness, I make well being and create woe; I, the LORD, do all these things. Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop it down. Let the earth open and salvation bud forth; let justice also spring up! I, the LORD, have created this.”—Isaiah 45:6b-8
“The Almighty has not created the universe that we may have opportunities to satisfy our greed, envy and ambition,” wrote Rabbi Abraham Heschel. “We have not survived that we may waste our years in vulgar vanities… When Israel approached Sinai, God lifted up the mountain and held it over their heads, saying: ‘Either you accept the Torah or be crushed beneath the mountain.’”
Here’s how it stands in America today. Over the past three years, the political and corporate classes in the United States have secured for themselves more than $2 trillion in tax cuts. More than half of them are going to the wealthiest one percent. The Congressional Budget Office predicts deficits totaling more than $2.75 trillion over the next 10 years. America has more children growing up in poverty than any other industrial nation. One in 37 adults living in the United States are in prison or have served time there, the highest incarceration level in the world.
“The mountain of history is over our heads again,” proclaims Rabbi Heschel. “Shall we now renew the covenant with God?”
How are charity and justice made real in your life?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Ad…..vent.
With gratitude to Pax Christi USA where some of these reflections first appeared in print.
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Nate Bacon: From Guatemala to Jerusalem to Pakistan
Here’s an update from my colleague Nate Bacon, who works for InnerChange in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and is a participant in one of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative roundtables:“Nine people were killed, and 35 injured, on Sunday morning [17 December] in a suicide bombing attack at Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta, Pakistan. In the light of such tragedy, it was consoling to be on a zoom call this morning with 10 members of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative from all around the globe, and hear a Christian Palestinian woman in Jerusalem offer empathetic words of comfort and encouragement to a Catholic priest in Pakistan!
“Even more encouraging was to hear that same priest describe to us how (instead of staying away in fear) Christians have been flocking to churches in even greater numbers to light candles and pray for the victims and for peace. And what a gift to conspire with these amazing leaders on how to promote and integrate Gospel Nonviolence in the Catholic Church and beyond, in a world drenched in blood.
“In the light of this and other distressing situations we discussed (including DRC, the Philippines, South Sudan, US politics, and Honduras), our friend from Jerusalem asked: ‘Who is going to monitor humanity to remain human?’ ‘Where do we go?’
“After a pause, she responded softly to her own question: ‘We must keep following the Star of Bethlehem.’
“…Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting Light…the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight… Amen.”
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Third Tuesday in Advent
Francis and the Christ Child “Advent is the season of the secret, the secret of the growth of Christ, of Divine Love growing in silence. It is the season of humility, silence, and growth. For nine months Christ grew in his mother’s body. By his own will, she formed him from herself, from the simplicity of her daily life.”–Caryll Houselander, woodcarver and mystic
“Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: ‘Pardon, my lord! As you live my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.’ She left him there.”—1 Samuel 1:26-28
A classic Chasidic story says that when the rabbi of Kotzker was asked, “Where is the place of the Messiah’s glory?” he replied, “Wherever we give Him room, wherever we make space for Him.” Where is the tender place in you where the Messiah will come to birth?
The Christmas crèche is a tangible reminder for us to make room for the Christ Child. The tradition dates back to St. Francis of Assisi. As the story goes, on Christmas Eve in 1293, Francis gathered with friars and townsfolk in the woods on Mt. Subasio. There, under the canopy of flowering ash and downy oak, was laid a trough filled with hay. Oxen and a donkey were tied to a tree. In his delight at the sight of Bethlehem in his own little corner of the Umbrian hills, Francis danced in praise and sang the gospel.
When the impromptu mass was over, Francis went to the crib and stretched out his arms as if to hold the infant Jesus. And for a moment, so the story is told, the Christ Child appeared. The empty manger was filled with a radiant light.
Remember to set an extra place for the unexpected guest at your Christmas meal.
“O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!”
Breathe in. Breathe out. Ad…..vent.
With gratitude to Pax Christi USA where some of these reflections first appeared in print.
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Third Monday in Advent
“This Advent, forgive, forgive, and forgive. Draw others close to you. Draw yourself near to other people. In bridging gaps we draw nearer to God who this season draws ever closer to us.”—Caryll Houselander, woodcarver and mystic“Balaam did not go as before to seek omens but turned toward the wilderness.”—Numbers 24:2
The story in Numbers 22 of Balaam and his ass is a favorite for Sunday school. The antics of the donkey who can see the angel of God while Balaam remains blind lends itself to classic comedy. In fact, it is the donkey who is actually the prophet because God speaks through her to correct Balaam.
Balak, the Moab king, is surrounded by Israelites who are prepared to attack. Balak has decided to fight fire with fire. He calls for Balaam, a Yahwist priest, to curse the Yahwist army. Balak thinks he’s got Balaam in his pocket because Balak can’t imagine anyone refusing money. But Balaam’s curse on the Israelites cannot be bought. Instead, God stuffs Balaam’s mouth with poems blessing Israel, which he then spews over the gathered army.
In this instance, the Moab king recognizes defeat and withdraws. The battle is won with poetry and without a single death.
The Christ-figure in this story is the donkey. She obeys God. She does everything in her power to keep Balaam on the path of righteousness. She submits to unjustified violence when Balaam beats her. And she speaks the words of God honestly. Filipino priest and activist Karl Gaspar would say this story exemplifies the “weapons of the weak.” The slave animal acts with honor and the war is won with weapons of beauty.
Pay attention today to the most overlooked living creature or person in your path. What example might they teach?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Ad…..vent.
With gratitude to Pax Christi USA where some of these reflections first appeared in print..
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Video: Interview with James W. Douglass on Thomas Merton, Vatican II, and Catholic nonviolence
This interview between Rose Marie Berger and James W. Douglass was conducted at Joe Rush Retreat Center in Middleton, AL, on Dec. 10, 2017 as part of the Mary’s House Advent Retreat. The theme of the weekend was the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative (https://nonviolencejustpeace.net/). Thomas Merton died on Dec. 10, 1968. This was a unplanned part of the retreat and we are grateful it was captured on tape.
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Guadalupe Ramirez: Our Lady of Guadalupe (video)
A 9-minute video with Sr. Guadalupe Ramirez, MCDP, on Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s part of the Catholic Women Preach video series.
“I have come to the conclusion that whenever I am presented with a new challenge, I want to ask ‘why me?’ I need to change that and ask, ‘Why not me?’ So I ask you, ‘Why not you?’”–Sr. Ramirez, MCDP
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First Thursday in Advent
Near San Salvador, 2011. “Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust. It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor.”–Isaiah 26:1-6
“Our baptismal vocation to holiness is intensified by God’s creative life hidden within us this Advent, while at the same time more and more things are demanding our time and energy. More shopping. More travel. More planning. Pressure builds, and it is increasingly difficult to find quiet time for our Advent-life. As we brush elbows with more and more people who are more and more anxious for the season, we hear again our call to simplicity. The great mystery of this Advent is that our personal holiness touches the lives of all those with whom we come into contact. When we are made holy as individuals, it is the whole world the reaps the reward. Being faithful to our baptismal vocation is an honest gift of self that we can share with our family and friends this Advent. Be faithful to God who has called you by name. Other blessings will follow.”—Caryll Houselander, woodcarver and mystic
Breathe in. Breathe out. Ad…..vent.
With gratitude to Pax Christi USA where some of these reflections first appeared in print.
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Rose Marie Berger 