This weekend marks the beginning of Advent – the four weeks of “waiting” for the arrival of Jesus – the REASON for the Christmas season!  From the looks of things, you would think the Christmas season was almost over when, in fact, it hasn’t even begun and will not begin until Christmas day.  Insane!  I’m excited about the Advent season because it’s the beginning of a new year for the church.   It encourages me to think about ways I can change in order to become a better version of myself.  It reminds me to slow down and maintain my focus on Christ and NOT on the things of this world.

As I think about Advent, two words come to mind:  humility and waiting.  I’m reminded of Mary’s humility as she accepted God’s challenge to carry His Son.  I’m reminded of her humility as she gave birth to our Savior in a manger.  Humility is defined as a modest or low view of one’s own importance.  It is the opposite of pride.  Mary’s humility illustrated two things which I would say also serve to define the word.  First, it illustrated her acceptance of divine grace and second, it illustrated her awareness of her lowliness, for she said “He has looked with favor on His lowly servant.”  Talk about humility.  She was born without original sin, she was CHOSEN to carry and gave birth to the Savior of the world and yet she remained humble.  WOW!

There is something to be said about true humility.  There’s a certain amount of strength and courage that’s required to be truly humble.  In today’s world there is so much emphasis placed on “success”, whatever that means – professional titles, salaries and possessions and so again, we reach a crossroads – do we fall into that trap and live our lives striving to be, have and do MORE or do we open ourselves to divine grace knowing and accepting our true place in this world as a lowly servant?  I choose the latter!  There’s a sense of freedom that comes with humility.  A freedom to be and do whatever you are called to be and do in this life without worrying about what others are doing or thinking.  A freedom that comes with knowing that the only place to go from the “bottom”, as a lowly servant, is up.  Scripture even tells us in Luke 14:10-11:  “But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”…  As I write, I’m also reminded of a question I came across in my reading:  What is the difference between humility and humiliation?  When we don’t seek the former, we sometimes encounter the latter.  How true that is!

Waiting also crosses my mind as I think of Advent – for obvious reasons.  But I also think of waiting for gifts on Christmas.  In my humility I wonder if I should even be receiving gifts.  What’s the purpose?  Who am I to be receiving gifts on Christ’s birthday?  If I accept a gift as a matter of tradition for the gifts brought to Christ after His birth, then maybe it should be something symbolic.  Christ received gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh – gifts fit for a king, for royalty, which He was.  Me?  I should receive a gift fit for a lowly servant.  So here’s a thought, instead of receiving a lavish gift or something I “want”, maybe I should receive ONE thing that I may need.  Hmmmm?  Think about that.  As a society, we are so spoiled it’s obnoxious.  We usually buy whatever we need throughout the year and then treat ourselves to what we want on Christmas and special occasions.  Some of us may even buy whatever we want, whenever we want.  Where did this need to blindly satisfy our every material desire come from? Where and when was this impulse born?  Whatever happened to sitting with our wants long enough to realize we really don’t want them at all?

This Advent I want to offer a difficult challenge – let us look to Christ and Mary as examples of humility and come down from our pedestals long enough to  LET GO of the pride and LET GOD enter our hearts.  Let’s sit with our wants and let them pass, then wait for the things that we need.  Most importantly, while we wait, let us REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! God bless you!

I sit with my coffee this morning, aware of Jesus’ presence around me, which brings me to tears – tears of joy at the thought……  To be able to sit in complete silence in communion with God is one of the best feelings in the world.  I understand first hand what He means when He says, “be still and know that I am God.” Stillness is POWERFUL!  True stillness, that is – not sitting still and reading a book or sitting still and going through a laundry list of things to do in your mind.  True stillness, for me, is sitting in silence and pondering – pondering Jesus, pondering one of life’s big questions, sitting and looking out the window and just observing what’s there without judgment, just breathing and settling.  I may have said this before and I’ll probably say it again in future posts, the more I practice stillness the more I want.

The holidays are upon us – Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The busy-ness has begun.  In the past, I would stress over everything that needed to get done – cooking, cleaning, decorating, etc.  It seemed as though there weren’t enough hours in a day.  What I have come to realize is that, although I have much to do, I organize my time much better now and I take the time each day to be still regardless of how busy I think I am.  The stillness brings me back to my center, my place of peace.  When I am in this place of peace, I am able to focus on the task at hand, to be in the moment as opposed to being focused on the five other things on my agenda for the day.  In this place of peace, time moves much slower, there actually are enough hours in a day – there’s actually some to spare!  Imagine that!

Stillness has led me into a heightened sense of awareness and this awareness gives me a sense that everything I do during the day and everything I encounter, good and bad, is considered a prayer.    The thought that my entire day consists of prayer helps me to foster an attitude of gratitude and also forces me to want to do all things well – to really make a conscious effort to give my all in everything I do, whether it’s writing a reflection or cleaning the toilet bowl!  There are so many bible verses that lead us to this truth.  1 Cor 16:14 says “do everything in love”; Col. 3:17 – whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father; Phil 2:14 – do everything without grumbling or arguing.

Each morning I offer my day to Christ with this prayer:  Oh my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer to you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my family, friends and relatives and in particular, for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. By offering my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of the day, I trust that His will is done (papa knows best), I focus on my work and do my best because it is my gift to God, my joys become magnified because I know Christ is sharing in my happiness and my sufferings become sweeter because I am aware that regardless of what I may be going through at that moment, Jesus, my Good Shepherd, is carrying me!

I often wonder how many people actually read this blog.  Of those who read, I wonder how many are truly inspired or how many actually click on the links I share.  I wonder how many have included a different spiritual practice into their routine or how many are regulars here.  How many have shared it with others?  As I ponder, I am reminded of my daily prayer and am comforted by the fact that regardless of how many people read, this is my gift to God – my job is not to wonder but to continue to do what I do and do it well, in the name of Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father!  He’ll take care of the rest.

So as you  prepare for Thanksgiving and begin your Christmas shopping, I hope you are encouraged to give yourself the gift of stillness.  It doesn’t cost a thing and it is truly the gift that keeps on giving.  When you begin to feel yourself being devoured by the demands of this life, remember to offer your day to Christ – it will change your perspective.  You will no longer see yourself as being swallowed up by the quicksand, you will begin to see yourself as a true disciple of Christ, simply “taking one for the team.” God bless you!