As Advent nears completion and Christmas is upon us let’s take a moment to reflect on what it all means.  For me, Advent is the most special time of year.  Filled with hope, anticipation, the first snows, Vespers in the early darkness and wonderful readings from Isaiah all capture the time before the arrival of Jesus, ever anew in our hearts. 

I – and perhaps many of us – can easily fall into taking Christmas for granted.  I can be swept away by the lights, the shopping, the sales, the parties and the gift sharing.  On the surface it is a delightful holiday time with renewed spirit in the world.  In the interior, though, it is all about Incarnation.  The miracle of birth, the miracle of one child and his family, the miracle of sharing this one Life, the miracle of Light when our paths seem Dark and the miracle of Love despite all our differences…this is the Miracle I value this Season of Christ.  The surface celebrations can last a day or weeks but the interior miracle of Christ will carry on each day and all days.

If you are discerning religious life it can be a special time to focus prayer on the way of Christ and the way you may be nudged to follow.  I have heard from women, more than usual, who are connected to us through our vocation mailings and communication.  I know they, and others, are serious discovering the way they are to live.  Each Thursday morning we start our Lauds with a special prayer to remember these women who are discerning.  Each Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 a group of Sisters gathers to pray for these women.  And two Sisters, Mary Jean and Germaine, carry these women in their hearts each day as vocation pray-ers.  Two other Sisters, Rosemary M. and Irene, pray daily in their group for vocations.

‘Tis the Season of Light and may Christ be your Light and Life as you learn the path you are to follow.  He is the only Light that can illumine your path.