On Christmas, Isaiah’s ancient promise feels startlingly fresh: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” Out of what looked dead, cut down, and hopeless, God brings forth new life. A tender shoot. A fragile bud. A Messiah who carries the Spirit in all its fullness—wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, holy awe.
Continue reading “When the Shoot Blossoms”
In these final days of Advent, I keep returning to Mary’s song in Luke’s Gospel, the Magnificat, her great cry of joy and surrender. It is, in so many ways, the perfect Advent prayer. Before Jesus is born, before the shepherds arrive, before the world knows what God is doing, Mary stands in the quiet of her own hidden life and proclaims:
Continue reading “Your Magnificat: An Advent Reflection with Mary”
John the Baptist’s cry echoes through Advent: “Make straight his paths.” It is a summons not only to prepare for the Lord’s coming but to reform our lives so that nothing hinders His presence.
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This second week of Advent moves us from hope into peace. The candles we light on our Advent wreath remind us that peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the deep assurance that flows from trusting God. Without hope prepared in our hearts, peace cannot take root. Hope steadies us; peace settles us.
Continue reading “Are You Anchored in Peace?”
Advent is a season of waiting, but not of uncertainty. We wait anchored in hope—the hope that is not wishful thinking or fragile optimism, but the steady promise of God. Hope is the anchor that holds us fast when the waters of life grow restless, when shadows lengthen and the night feels long.
Continue reading “Anchored in Hope: A Gift for Advent”
When we think of beauty, we imagine light, harmony, and wholeness—whether in a mountain, a flower, a melody, or a person. True beauty has no distortion, no stain to mar its perfection. On this feast of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate Mary as the masterpiece of God’s creation. Her soul was formed without the shadow of sin, radiant with the fullness of grace, designed by the same Creator who painted sunsets and jeweled the skies.
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On this second Sunday of Advent we see repentance as our hope. John’s cry in the wilderness is not meant to frighten us into obedience. His call to repentance is an invitation to prepare our hearts for the One who heals and perfects our humanity. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And as the Catechism reminds us, “the Kingdom of God means Christ himself” (CCC 2816).
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“In those days before the flood, the people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.” (Mt 24:38)
We can almost picture it, Noah building a massive ark on dry land, while everyone around him carried on with ordinary routines—eating, drinking, marrying—indifferent to the strange sign rising before their eyes. Their vision was flat, one-dimensional, absorbed only in the present moment.
Continue reading “Advent Calls Us To More”
“Advent’s intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope.”
—Pope Benedict XVI
Hope begins not in our striving but in remembering. As we light the first candle on our Advent wreath this week. We are called back to the tender truth that God entered our world as a child, fragile, dependent, and utterly human. This memory heals because it reminds us that God is not distant from our daily lives but has chosen to dwell within us.
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“It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (Rom 13:11)
Advent begins with a summons: awake. Saint Paul’s words stir us from the slumber of routine and distraction, reminding us that the Lord’s coming is not a distant dream but a near and living reality. Salvation is closer than we imagine, and hope is not deferred—it is dawning.
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Smitten With Goodness 