Journaling

O Wisdom

Posted on by MSFriend

Today I want to share a little something about what I changed of my routine this Advent.

When I first got married, we were one of those couples that ran out the weekend after Thanksgiving, bought a tree and decorated our living space for Christmas.  By the time Christmas actually arrived, we were already tired of looking at the tree and decorations. Although we always waited until January 6, we couldn’t wait to take everything down, put it away and get back to “normal.”  As the years pass, we no longer worry about decorating right after Thanksgiving.  As a matter of fact, we usually wait until the beginning of December to start decorating and we start with lights outside the house. By mid-December, we’re all done with decorating outside and in.  This year, however, I really wanted to focus on “waiting” aspect of Advent – I wanted to enjoy the season of Advent, as opposed to rushing the arrival of Christmas.

Many years have passed since our first Christmas as a married couple – 20 years to be exact. I always felt inspired to follow the traditions of my faith, like having an Advent wreath or a Jesse tree – but my Christmas prep always got in the way.  I always lost sight of the REAL “preparation” I was supposed to be participating in.  This year I vowed to not let that happen.  I vowed that I was going to research the traditions, to understand the meaning behind them, so I could participate fully.  So here we are, one week before Christmas – not one gift has been purchased and my Christmas tree is still at the tree farm.  My focus has been waiting, anticipating and preparing my heart for Christmas in a way that really matters.  My Advent wreath is displayed and used everyday and my Jesse tree is up with a new ornament added everyday after I read the scripture verse associated with it.

How is this year different as a result of these subtle changes?  Today I woke up with a feeling of excitement over the coming week and what it represents.  I realized that the joy and excitement come as a result of my preparation.  This year Christmas didn’t creep up on me because I wasn’t distracted with the scurrying and shopping and decorating.  I spent my Advent truly remembering the “reason for the season.”  As I mentioned earlier, in the past I’d be ready to put everything away by now.  This year I can’t wait to start putting everything up.  I’m aware of the symbolic meaning behind each thing – the Christmas tree, the Advent wreath, the Jesse tree, the O Antiphons. I want to KNOW and understand why we do the things we do – as Christians, as Americans, as humans.  Focusing on understanding has made this year’s “holy day” season that much more special for me.

What have I learned? what have I taken the time to understand?

Christmas tree:  there are many different stories about how the tradition came about.  One  story says the Christmas tradition was begun as a result of the actions of St. Boniface.  In an effort to do away with pagan worship in his time, he chopped down an oak tree that was used for worship by the pagans.  When he did that, a fir tree sprouted from the root of the oak tree symbolizing the triumph of Christian worship over paganism.

Advent wreath:  evergreen – eternity; circle – God’s unending love for us.  4 candles representing the four weeks of Advent. Each week represents a thousand years for the four thousand years from Adam and Eve to the birth of Christ.   There are three purple candles and one pink. The first week we light a purple candle which represents peace, the second week another purple candle which represents hope, the third week a pink candle representing joy and the fourth week another purple representing love.  Finally, on Christmas we can light a white candle in the middle, representing Jesus, the light of the world.  You can click here to get even more details and prayers to use with an advent wreath.

Jesse tree –  taken from Isaiah 11:1 “a shoot shall sprout from the stem of Jesse”- the tree represents the family tree of Jesus – ornaments with symbols from scripture, starting in Genesis with the story of creation and ending in the New Testament with the birth of Christ.  This devotion takes us through the Bible from the beginning and ends with the placement of an ornament at the top of the tree on Christmas eve, representing Christ, our Savior.  It includes the reading of a relevant scripture verse each day and the placement of one ornament on the tree a day.

O Antiphons – a tradition that is over 1000 years old.  In anticipation of Christ’s coming, beginning the week before Christmas, we pray an antiphon each day which invokes the coming of Christ.  The Antiphons reflect the different names associated with Jesus (O Sapientia (wisdom),  O Adonai (Sacred Lord), O Radix Jesse (flower of Jesse’s stem), O Clavis David (key of David), O Oriens (radiant dawn), O Rex Gentium (king of all nations), O Emmanuel (God with us)) .  One fascinating thing of this tradition is that if you take the first letter of the name used each day and read them backward from Christmas Eve they spell “ero cras” which means “I come tomorrow.” Jesus’s response, on Christmas Eve,  to our week long invocation ! Today’s Antiphon is O Wisdom.

I think it’s important to remember that even though retailers want us to believe the Christmas season starts shortly after Halloween, the truth of the matter is the Christmas season does not start until Christmas Day.  We all know the famous song The 12 days of Christmas, right?  Well, those 12 days span from December 25 – January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany or Three King’s Day! If you’ve been caught up in all the hustle and bustle, it’s not too late to take a break to focus on the reason for the season.  Let’s call on Christ to help us find our way.

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God’s mouth, You govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and teach us all the ways that lead to life!  Amen.  God bless you!

 

Joy

Posted on by MSFriend

Today is Gaudete Sunday – the third Sunday of Advent. Christmas day is fast approaching!  The pink candle, representing joy, is lit on the advent wreath and we focus on the joy we experience as the time for Jesus’ coming draws near.

In my readings for this morning, the words of St. Augustine echoed what I feel as I prepare my reflections to post on this blog.   He said:  “when I think about what I am going to say, the word or message is already in my heart.  When I want to speak to you, I look for a way to share with your heart what is already mine.  In my search for a way to let this message reach you, so that the word already in my heart may find place also in yours, I use my voice to speak to you.  The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the word to you and then passes away.  The word which the sound has brought to you is now in your heart and yet it is still also in mine.” He continues:  “The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word and has gone away, as though it were saying my joy is complete.  Let us hold on to the word.”

As you know from the information on my pages, I started this blog because I wanted to share with others the joy I feel in my heart as a result of my deepened relationship with Christ.  I wanted to share information that would inspire others to continue working toward deepening their relationship as well.  Of all the things I have done in my life,  of all the careers and studies, I have to say writing for this blog has kept me busiest and is one of the most difficult tasks I have ever attempted, but the only one I truly enjoy.

Why do I consider this the most difficult?  Because I know that the words and thoughts I share are not my own.  I cannot and do not depend on my own devices to teach or inspire.  I wait for inspiration to come from the Holy Spirit, but in order to receive it, I must be still.  Still, not for 5 minutes, not for 1/2 hour but sometimes for hours, sometimes even for days.  The messages I share don’t come easy.  When they come, I read and re-read and edit and sit contemplating the words further until I am guided to “send it off- the message is clear.” My intention is to post something everyday, but there are days where my daily obligations and responsibilities don’t allow me the time to be as still as I need to be to post a reflection and I don’t want to post just anything.  Hence, the day or two of “lull.”

In a day where so many people are turning away from God and dissociating themselves from the Church, the guidepost to God, I think it is important to arm ourselves with knowledge – knowledge of our history as Christians, knowledge of our customs and most importantly, knowledge of our God through the Word.  This takes time and patience because not only should we know the information, we should make it our own, either through understanding or relation to personal experience or both.   Have you ever had a conversation with a person who seemed to be simply regurgitating information, as opposed to really knowing what they were talking about?  I have and the conversation is not at all engaging. The lack of personal knowledge and understanding makes me want to turn away from whatever that person is promoting – be it a product, opinion or religion.  How can we expect others to follow our lead or take us seriously if we don’t know what we’re talking about. Shouldn’t we be sitting back and taking stock of our customs, traditions and beliefs and understanding why we believe them or why we are so devoted to them?   Not understanding these things is like saying we exhibit a certain personality because “that’s just the way I am.”. Is that really the truth? Isn’t there more to the story, something deeper?  We must be clear and we can only be clear if we truly understand.

This is the perfect segue to the words of St. Ambrose.  He advises us:  “let your words be rivers, clean and limpid (completely clear) so that in your exhortations you may charm the ears of your people……….. let your sermons be full of understanding…… let the meaning of your words shine forth, let understanding blaze out.  See that your addresses and expositions do not need to invoke authority of others, but let your words be their own defense.  Let no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning.”. In other words, understand fully whatever it is you are going to speak about.  Don’t just simply quote and recite, just for the sake of “sounding” like you know what you’re talking about.  These words are challenging, aren’t they?  To be able to speak words of wisdom that possess depth of meaning requires much reading, much contemplation and obviously much time and little distraction.  Are you willing to take the time?  If not for the sake of sharing with others then at least for the sake of deepening your relationship with our Lord?  In my own experience, the reading and contemplation have produced a peace in my heart that I hope reflects the light of Christ to the world.  The peace in my heart has allowed me to receive Christ on a deeper level.  Christ is the source of all my JOY!  Happy Gaudete Sunday!  God bless you!