JOURNEY THROUGH ADVENT (1)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……You are breathing in the breath of life, the gift of God….breathe in all that is of God and from God and breathe out all that is not of God and from God……

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that come with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

Gently, prayerfully reflect on the following thoughts:

One of the great traditions of Christian communities has been celebrating the season of Advent every year. Many customs, traditions, practices and rituals are observed during this season. At the heart of these observances and practices are great virtues which we must nurture. Let us make this morning’s meditation a very personal and intense reflection on some of the virtues underlying the many customs and practices.

May this season bless and transform our life by the virtues that give meaning to this season.

Blessed are you God, our father of all that is!

In your infinite mercy, you came to us in our distress

and gave us Jesus your Son, to be our savior and friend, our brother and redeemer.

We thank you, Father, for the gift of “Advent”,

Make it a time of Grace and peace for all of us. Amen.

This year, our Sunday Scripture readings for the season of advent are from “cycle B”

of the Lectionary. Themes of “watchfulness, mindfulness, prayerfulness and blamelessness” permeate the Scripture readings of the four Sundays of Advent.

Be watchful – Be mindful – Be prayerful – Be blameless.

The season of Advent is a time of joyful, faith-filled waiting. We are invited to consider the weeks of preparation for Christmas as an opportunity for nurturing a spirituality of waiting in expectation – not a passive, inactive, idle and unimaginative presence in space and time – but a dynamic, active and positively imaginative waiting – a spiritual posture of waiting and longing for Christ, praying and preparing for his ultimate appearance among us – a spirituality of hope, simple and pure optimism about us and the world around us.

Dynamic waiting, positive thinking, optimistic living, hope-filled anticipation and joyful and faith-filled presence are to characterize all our Advent days and nights because we wait for Jesus the incarnation of God’s steadfast, unconditional, everlasting and ever faithful love. Jesus came to liberate all people from all forms of enslavement: sickness, poverty, injustice, corruption, inequality and so on. Jesus, in words and deeds, taught us that salvation and liberation are not simply otherworldly realities – they are to shape and form and transform our life.

The Season of Advent is meant to be a deeply spiritual experience. It reminds us that our faith in God, our hope in His promises and our love for Him and each other are the greatest wealth that we possess. It reminds us that we are a privileged people, a people blessed and graced by God’s unconditional love revealed in Jesus; that God has not abandoned the world. He breaks into our history. He enters into our history. The birth of Jesus, the incarnation, is real. The presence of or even the height of evil must not discourage us. The apparent brokenness and disintegration will be healed. God continues to bring about healing, integrity and wholeness.

The season of Advent invites us to consider the weeks of preparation for Christmas as an opportune time for cultivating an Advent spirituality — a spiritual posture of waiting and longing for Jesus, praying and preparing for his ultimate appearance among us. Each week we are encouraged to deepen the Advent spirituality even further, both collectively and individually, by considering how the purpose of the one we await affects the character of our waiting. Joy and hope-filled anticipation are to characterize all our Advent days and nights, for Jesus is the loved one whose coming we await. Because he who comes is the very salvation of God, we who await him must give ourselves over to the work of salvation.

How can we, who await a compassionate and saving Lord, live in constant preparedness for his coming?

1. Those who await a compassionate Savior must allow the words of scripture to take hold of them just as those words took hold of the prophets, apostles, evangelists and many charismatic men and women in history. Those who “await” must read, reflect, study, pray and live the word of the Scripture. This means that they must allow themselves to be transformed by it, to be turned inside out by it, to be consumed by it, to be driven and directed by it.

1. Those who “await” must also let themselves be converted by the heart, mind, will and spirit of Christ. This means loving as he loved, serving as he served, living as he lived and, when necessary, suffering and dying as he suffered and died.

1. Those who “await” for the coming of the just one must give themselves to the work of justice. Jesus put the command to “love your neighbor” on a par with the command to love God, for he wanted his followers to understand that justice is not simply about giving others what they can prove they deserve. Rather, justice, God’s justice, Jesus’ justice, is born of a love of God, self and others that cannot help but serve others in their need, without any consideration of deservedness.

1. Advent preparedness is the reminder that it is not only the economically disadvantaged who fall under the title “poor.” As is illustrated repeatedly in scripture, the poor are also lepers, widows, orphans and sinners. Even the wealthy Zacchaeus was poor, in that he was an outcast, hated by his contemporaries. Therefore, our anticipation of the coming Christ requires that the poor be recognized and their needs attended, regardless of their monetary status.

1. Those who “await” for the coming of Christ must wait faithfully – fidelity to who and what we are, to all of our relationships – with God, with one another, with the world – and to all our responsibilities however big or small they may be. If the one for whom we prepare is, indeed, the very “faithfulness” of God, then it is through him, with him, in him and because of him that we are to live lives of fidelity while we wait for his coming.

The second readings of the first Sunday of Advent this year is Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians 3:12-4:2. Paul believed that the second coming of Christ was imminent. So he encouraged the Thessalonians to be prepared and be ready to meet him. The way to prepare was to “live lovingly and blamelessly”. He praised them for their sincerity of efforts in this regard and encouraged them to “make still greater progress”.

Advent is a time when we are specially reminded of living “lovingly and blamelessly”. May this Advent and the good news it proclaims challenge us to live lives that are loving and blameless.

The Gospel reading of the this Sunday is Luke 21:25-28; 34-36. In Luke 21:5-25 which precedes this excerpt, Luke describes the prophesies of Jesus regarding the fall of Jerusalem and the terrible experience that follow. They admired the beauty and glory of their temple – gazed at it with amazement! They thought they were privileged to be in the presence of a beautiful and enduring reality, the construction of which took over 80 years. Besides its obvious beauty, the fact that the temple was revered as God’s dwelling place on earth made it a permanent structure in Jewish life and spirituality. So, they were shocked at the prediction Jesus made! Even angry! When Luke wrote his Gospel, the prediction of Jesus had come true! The temple was gone! Titus and his troops had conquered Jerusalem and leveled the temple in 70 C.E.

But God had not gone from there, nor was he gone from the hearts of the believers!
The harsh realities that Jesus predicted did come true and believers faced them with courage. They were inherent in every aspect of discipleship.

Luke tells us how Jesus encouraged the disciples to accept these hardships as opportunities to bear witness to him and to the good news of salvation. He says: “stand up straight and raise your heads for your ransom is near at hand” – remember his teachings, trust his word and not give over to apocalyptic anxiety. He warned them about doomsday prophets, “many will come in my name………do not follow them…..….” He encourages us not to worry about fearful omens and not give in to the dread of suffering that could come as a result of following him.

Our faith today is being tested. We need to stand our ground – be deeply rooted in our faith tradition. Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to live “loving and blameless” lives. This is what Jesus teaches us today, “stand up straight and raise your heads…” Our faith must be true, our witness must be authentic and continuous, our prayer must be intense and unceasing, our service must be generous and practical, our hope must be our strength, our love must be forgiving and gracious and benevolent…….

Jesus had talked about the “Day of the Lord” and the terrible events that surround that day. He talked about what he himself had to face and what his disciples eventually would face. Hearing all this, the disciples wanted to know what they should do and what signs they should be looking for. Jesus used familiar imageries of sun, moon, stars, gathering of clouds, budding fig tree, etc. to describe the reality of God breaking into history. Jesus called them to recognize the coming of God in all happenings.

Be alert, stay awake and continue to fulfill the mission of Jesus in whatever situation you may be………recognize the presence and movement of God in all you do!

Jesus continued to call his disciples to be alert and awake and to stand strong. He told them about the difficulties ahead. Throughout his ministry, Jesus emphasized that the suffering of persecution for the sake of the Kingdom and for the cause of justice was an integral part of being a disciple. The “Day of the Lord” will come. No one knew the time or the day or the hour. God will break in at the least expected moment, through least expected events, people and situations. So it is urgent to stay awake, alert and prepared. Jesus said to them, “Pray constantly for strength…”

Be watchful – Be mindful – Be prayerful – Be blameless.

Take time during the week to reflect on the possibility of cultivating watchfulness, mindfulness, prayerfulness and blamelessness as enduring qualities of our Christian character. We will reflect more on these themes during the coming weeks.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

WITH GRATEFUL HEARTS

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that comes with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Pray with me as you begin this meditation….

Thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart;

I sing praise to you before the angels.

I worship at your holy temple and praise your name
because of your constant love and faithfulness,

because you have shown that you and your word are exalted.

You answered me when I called to you; you built up strength within me.

All the rulers of the earth will praise you, Yahweh,
because they have heard your promises.

They will sing about your ways and about your great glory.

Even though you are exalted, you care for the lowly.

The proud cannot hide from you.

Even when I am surrounded by troubles, you keep me safe;

You oppose my angry enemies and save me by your power.

You will do everything you have promised me;
Yahweh, your faithful love endures forever.
Complete the work that you have begun. (Psalm 138)

Keep praying….

Thank you God, with all my heart for …….

Thank you God, you answered me when I called out to you….

Thank you God, You built up strength within me…….

Thank you God, you care for the lowly……

Thank you God, You keep me safe……

Thank you God, I know you will do everything you promised….

Thank you God, your faithful love endures forever…..

Thank you God, I know, you will complete the work you have begun in me……

Dear Lord, where would I be without the gift of my family and friends and all those reliable and dependable people who serve me daily? I thank you today for their presence in my life. I thank you for the gifts you have given to each one. I thank you for the many ways in which they touch my life. I thank you for their laughter, their encouragement and their support. I thank you for every experience I have shared with them, whether good or bad, happy or sad, their presence in my life has made me a better person. Thank-you!

Prayerfully reflect with me….

While there may be many things wrong in our world, many people unfaithful to their commitments, many projects incomplete and imperfect and so on, there definitely are many things right with our world, many people doing the best they can, many projects contributing to the growth and stability of our communities. We often take for granted things that work properly most of the time and people who live decent and virtuous lives.

So, the next time you are tempted to feel that things are bad, remember….

• there are some things that work very, very well
• there some people that work very, very well
• there are some things that are dependable, reliable
• there are some people who are dependable, reliable

Heavenly Father,

We praise You and thank You today for your abundant blessings.
Remind us to be humble in our abundance,

Help us remember the sacrifice of those who have gone before us.
Let their example remind us to always be thankful,

to always surrender ourselves to your plan and purpose for us.

We thank you, O Lord,

for Your gift of Yourself, for your gift of our life,
for your gift of our faith, our health, our family, our friends our Church and our country.

Prayerfully reflect with me….

While forgiveness heals the heart of old hurts, gratitude opens it to love. Gratitude showers many blessings. It dissolves negative feelings: anger and jealousy, fear and anxiety and so on. Gratitude deflates the barriers to love.

Gratitude creates joy, which is itself a blessing that heals and empowers. The great Taoist sage Chuang Tzu even went so far as to say that “When one reaches happiness, one is close to perfection.” When we are happy, we like to make others happy, and this fosters kindness and generosity. Gratitude is a gift to everyone. I believe, that is why Saint Paul urged us to “Rejoice always” and to “Give thanks in all circumstances.”

Like other attitudes, gratitude must be cultivated. We don’t have to wait for our fairy grandmother to shower us with gifts before feeling thankful. We can develop gratitude by reflecting on the gifts that are already ours. This reflection can be done for a minute, a day,

or throughout a lifetime. Most people celebrate their birthdays and holidays, but those who cultivate gratitude celebrate every day. We can be grateful because we are happy, but we can also be happy because we are grateful.

We tend to forget how very different the laws that govern the mind are from the laws that operate in the physical world. In the world, if we give a thing to another person, whether it be a toy or a diamond, we lose it and the other gains. Yet in our mind and heart the opposite is true. Whatever we intend for another person we experience ourselves, whatever we give we gain.

The words “As you give so shall you receive” are profound statements about the way our minds work. This is the basis of the prayer of St. Francis, “Grant that I may not so much seek
To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive.”

Gratitude brings light and warmth into our hearts, spreads joy and radiates positive energy into the world. The more we consciously and consistently grow in our practice of gratitude, the more blessings we will experience.

You cannot be grateful and bitter.

You cannot be grateful and unhappy.
You cannot be grateful and without hope.

You cannot be grateful and unloving.
So just be grateful.

Ever loving and faithful God, you have blessed us with a new day with new opportunities and possibilities. You have blessed us and graced us with food to sustain us, work to serve you by serving others, people to love and care for – we thank you. We know that you are a God of mindfulness – you keep us in your heart. Help us be mindful of your presence in us, deep in our hearts, among us and around us. In our joy-filled days, help us be grateful for your blessing and grace. In our difficult moments, difficult days, and difficult periods, help us remember that you are our refuge and our strength, our comfort and our safe shelter. Bless us, bless our day, bless our work, bless those we meet, bless those who love and serve us and bless those who do not love us. Grace us that we may live and grow in your love, gratefully, gracefully, faithfully and joyfully. Thank you, God. Amen.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs