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Ponderings of Grace from Saint Mary by-the-Sea First Sunday of Advent

 

 

  FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT  

Isaiah 63:19          Psalm 80           Mark 13:33-37

 

Today, I recall with gratitude Advent 2004 when I was privileged to celebrate a special Jubilee year in Le Puy. As earth entered into the realm of darkness, I often found myself thinking of our first sisters and the times of darkness through which they walked to proceed to light.   I thought of the darkness of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, and the light that followed for our Congregation in its refounding days. I thought of our sister pioneers who traveled to the New World and faced days of darkness to bring the light of our charism to this new land.

 

This year as our dear earth once again embraces darkness, I look out over the ocean and ponder our present-day journey from darkness to light. I think about and pray for our sisters on each one of earth’s five continents, especially our sisters in Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan, Haiti.  

 

And I wonder:

What / Who is our loving God inviting me / us to embrace as we watch and wait for the Beloved?

What / Who is the Divine Potter waiting for so that our fragile clay can be reshaped by loving Hands?

What / Who does the Shepherd desire us to become during these holy days?

                                                                                                                                                      --Sheila Holly SSJ