Fourth Week of Advent Meditation #1

Although we do not know the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Church has been counting down these four weeks before Christmas in the Advent Season to celebrate just that. This week we are in the fourth and final week preparing our hearts and minds for not only commemorating the birth of our Lord and Savior of all humankind, but also brings to mind our preparation for his second coming as he foretold in Matthew 24:29-31.

MEDITATION:

God our Father in heaven, Creator of the earth, galaxies, universes, and all powers, angels and archangels; be with us as we wait and again to celebrate the gift of your presence with us, in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. We recall the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, when Mary and Joseph welcomed him into the world.

The angels sang hymns of glory, and the shepherds knelt before the manger in awe and adoration. In faith we look forward to the Jesus’ coming in glory at the end of time, when he will gather us into his kingdom of love and peace. Help us to be ready, waiting with joyful hearts, to welcome Jesus who loves us so much.

Prepare our hearts to celebrate his coming this Christmas. Give us strength to live in peace with everyone, especially those closest to us. We thank you for being with our family, neighbors and friends.

If we have hurt anyone, help us make amends. Help us also to forgive anyone who may have hurt us. May the flame of the light of the four advent candles also ignite love in our hearts, the love that only you can give.

Let us seek reconciliation with God, through Jesus this Advent Season, so that nothing stands between us and the Good God who gave us our life.

God Bless

There Is One Race On Earth ~ The Human Race ~ Practice The Golden Rule This Advent

Whether we are discussing the differences in people regarding race, color, ethnicity, creed, gender, financial status or any other way we attempt to distinguish ourselves as being different from every other human being, the fact remains that we are all human beings living on this one earth. We are all the same. There is only one race of people on earth, the human race.

Sometimes we try to hide our prejudices behind other reasons, to justify the positions we take to suppress the voice of others. We are more alike than any difference we profess.

The root cause of prejudice is fear, not hatred. While certain groups may be extremely angry about an issue, the underlying cause of anger is fear. Fear is often coupled with greed. This is really the poverty mentality, which says, I need more than you; if I have it you cannot have it; or, there is not enough to go around. This is also the power mentality, if I have more than you; you have to do what I say; and/or follow my laws, even though I do not have to follow my laws.

What is the paradigm you wish to follow? Are you a follower or a leader? Do you stand up for yourself? Do you stand up for yourself in the midst of fearful, greedy and/or powerful people? Do you stand up for truth?

Think of how you respond to someone expressing a different viewpoint, or addressing uncomfortable issues such as immigration, homelessness and hungry children in our country and the world.

If we are truly serious about fixing our world, before we can build any bridges to repair the damage we have caused, we must eradicate the root cause of fear. War, murder and killing are not communication skills.

There is more to do, more to share, more to learn, more to understand, more to forgive, more to let go. It is not about being right, or wrong, or making others right or wrong. There is no way to make up for the loss of life through war, violence, bloodshed, or retaliation. Two wrongs do not make a right. We need to build bridges to and for all people everywhere.

Despite all our unique differences, we all share this one beautiful planet. We are all born in the same way, we all breathe air while we are here, and we all die. We are all having a shared human experience. Our life is in our blood, without which we would cease to be. No one soul is better than any other soul on this planet, no matter what our pride (insane ego) might be telling us.

There is only one race of people on this planet.

It’s the human race.

God Bless

First Week of Advent

Advent is a special time in the Christian calendar. It is the beginning of the church year. We light the first purple candle marking the first of four weeks of preparation celebrating the first Christmas at Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God. The angels sang hymns of glory to Him, and shepherds knelt before this holy Babe in the manger in awe and adoration. The birth of the Savior of the world was prophesied since the dawning of humankind. Everyone had been watching for the signs of the coming of the messiah. They were expecting the prophecies about Him to be fulfilled, since every other prophecy had been fulfilled. They were on alert.

Now it is approximately 2019 years following His birth, since the start of today’s calendar is off by about 4-6 years from the actual year of the birth of Jesus. This first week of Advent not only commemorates preparations we can make for the birth of the Savior of all human beings in every land on December 25, it also calls to mind the very last prophecy yet to be fulfilled. It is the prophecy of the return of the Savior to humankind all over the earth. Just as the faithful were waiting for the Savior to arrive over 2,000 years ago, we are also alert to Jesus’ coming in glory at the end of time, when He will gather us into his heavenly and earthly kingdom of love and peace.

It is in faith we wait in anticipation, looking forward to this kingdom of love and peace Jesus told us about. This prophecy, soon to be fulfilled in Jesus, is in Isaiah 2:4, “The Lord will settle international disputes; all nations will convert their weapons of war into implements of peace. Then at last all wars will stop and all military training will end.” ~ taken from The Catholic Living Bible, Tyndale House Publishers

Advent is a time of preparing our hearts, minds and souls to be ready to greet Him again. When was the last time we spent an hour of prayer, uniting our hearts with Jesus, His Father, and the Holy Spirit, not just in a community setting like church, but in a one-on-one time with Him during the week? There are 168 hours in a week. It is a nice break with the rush of the season, social media, television, and life’s schedules, to carve out whatever time we can to feed our soul. We spend so much time on what we feed our body and/or our minds. Feeding our souls is like an oasis in the desert.

Are there relationships we can mend? Can we help another in need among us? We have so many opportunities to help others.

Perhaps we can be better earth-keepers, feed the wild birds of the forest and fields during these coming winter months, or take good care of our pets, especially those that are outside in the elements.

We can visit nearby shrines both for the events they hold as well as for the Christmas lighting displays many of them have. Or we can visit churches that hold special services, or make special visits as in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and/or prayer services if we want to share these moments with friends and family, or simply go by ourselves. New beginnings are always possible in Advent.

Anything we can do to change the only focus on consumerism, materialism, and/or divisions within society is a welcome change to our regular non-Advent days. Now is the time to settle disputes, build bridges and mend broken fences with friends, family and the world at large. We can build consensus, find common ground, build a safer community and world in which to live. It is possible to live in a more aware way resulting in saving this one planet on which we all live and breathe, at least at this moment. We can do better in so many ways.

If we have fallen away from our faith, or if we never experienced faith, now is a good time to open our hearts, minds and souls to the possibility that the resurrected Jesus, once a human and divine Baby, can transform our hearts, minds and souls. Ask Him to give you insight, knowledge and a special grace which can light a spiritual fire of love, peace beyond all human understanding. Advent is the time for prayers such as these.

There are as many ways to prepare our hearts, minds and souls as there are individuals among us. These are merely some suggestions to help us on our way to reflecting on Baby Jesus sent to you and me all these years ago, and to grow in awareness and raise our consciousness in realizing that Jesus does walk among us, and works in and through us. Jesus promises to be with us whenever we call on Him, until He comes in glory.

God Bless