Church calendars often list this date as O Sapientia, the first of the seven great “O” Antiphons used with the Magnificat at Vespers on the final seven days before Christmas Eve. These wonderful gems of liturgical composition are poems; they address Christ by a succession of biblical titles (O Wisdom; O Adonai; O Root of … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Wednesday, December 17: O Wisdom
Las Posadas, literally, “the shelters,” which begins today, is celebrated with great joy as the “holy pilgrims” (Mary and Joseph) move each night from house to house, one after another. It is always celebrated with song, prayers, and special food, some of which are: tamales, donuts, and champurrado. Las Posadas is a time of celebration … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Tuesday, December 16: Las Posadas
In these mid-December days, we hurtle closer and closer to the winter solstice—the shortest day of the year. I have to confess that although I love the ‘feeling’ of the winter season, the shortness of the days and the length of the nights is not my most favorite thing in the world. I much prefer … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Monday, December 15: The Ember Days
On this day, the church commemorates Juan (John) de Yepes Álvarez. He was born at Fontiveros in Spain on the feast day of John the Baptist, June 24, 1542. Juan’s only ambition in life was to spend his life in prayer and meditation. As a young boy, his father died, and Juan was placed in … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Sunday, December 14: Commemoration of John of the Cross, Renewer of the Church, 1591
A small bit of light changes things. A small bit of light can be hope. And perhaps a small bit of light can simply be a reminder to a dark room to turn on the light. Saint Lucy—Santa Lucia—is a wonderful confluence of histories. She’s Italian by heritage, yet so embraced by Scandinavia that they … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Saturday, December 13: Feast Day of Santa Lucia
*an Advent reflection given at Luther Memorial Church of Chicago on December 10, 2014* Text: Mark 1:1-8 Prepare Wilderness. Untouched, undomesticated, unknown. Full of lush foliage, I imagine. Or lying barren and uninviting. Or sitting under ages of crumbling infrastructure, rubble, and dust. Certainly not the picture we have of our beautiful city. There aren’t many “untouched” parts … Continue reading Realign — or ‘The Call of a Scraggly, Strange-Dressing, Bug-Eating Prophet’
How does the Divine make itself known today? Jesus was a totally unexpected gift from God. Sure the prophets foretold it, or so we say in hindsight. But if there’s a theme to Advent, and especially to this week, it’s that we must learn to see God in unexpected ways. Our Roman Catholic sisters and … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Friday, December 12: The Commemoration of Our Lady of Guadalupe
One of the things I love most about Advent is the food. Whereas Lent is a barren time, a time of denial, Advent is a time of careful indulgence. Advent is a time where we test and taste and try. Perhaps it’s the winter that calls us to eat fatty sausages and cookies, or maybe … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Thursday, December 11
Today is the commemoration day of Thomas Merton, mystic and contemplative of the 20th century. Merton came from the hills of Kentucky, not quite the place one might expect a contemplative to emerge from. But, then again, Jesus came from the small now-where town of Galilee, and no one expected that. As Philip said in the … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Wednesday, December 10: Commemoration of Thomas Merton
Read: Isaiah 11:1-10 The Isaiah passage appointed for this week is one of great hope. It is the promise of something new springing from something dead. It is no mistake, brothers and sisters, that we celebrate the birth of the Christ in the middle of winter, when all the northern hemisphere is dead. Christ, the … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Tuesday, December 9
the narrow way 