Let It Be

 

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me.
Speaking words of wisdom,
Let it be.
With these words the Beatles come to us speaking words of wisdom for Advent as we reflect on Mary's response to the Angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38). The young girl is frightened and confused at what the angel says God wants her to do, but in the end she surrenders herself to God's will with these words, "You see before you the Lord's servant; let it be with me as you have said."
The same surrender can be ours as we find ourselves in these darkening days of winter and the world. Our "Let it be" brings "our peace in his will."
This picture is the courtyard of the cathedral on St. Vincent in the Caribbean, a far cry from the heavy snow we are experiencing as I write.o

Joan of Arcadia

 

Joan of Arcadia was a TV series a few years back. Like Joan of Arc, this Joan hears voices but they have bodies attached to them. She sees God in various strangers who identify themselves as God and ask her to do some task. God might be a cute high school boy or a little girl or a janitor or a grandmotherly woman. Joan never knows and so she's sometimes wondering whether this or that character might identify himself or herself as God.
As I watched the show I found myself also wondering whether this or that character would turn out to be God. Then it gradually occured to me that God was present and working in many of the characters even if they do not identify themselves as God. God is in Joan herself, in her family and group of friends, and in many of the other people who figure in the episodes. I could see how God was working in them to bring about some good and how something that one of them did influenced others and started a chain of good.
I have been watching the two seasons again on DVD. I find them valuable Advent reflections on Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
The kids in the picture are in Honolulu. They have God shining out of their bright faces.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

I have been in love with this particular apparition of Mary since I read an account of it by John Steinbeck in a book of short stories when I was in college. On many islands of the Caribbean I have come across pictures of it, even in the most unexpected places, such as a shop where you could rent snorkling equipment. It is significant that Mary appeared as an Amerindian, expressing her solidarity with the poor natives of Mexico. I also like the fact that she appeared on the site of a pagan shrine, a place already holy. As the story ends, just when you think that the miracle that the bishop asked for is the roses in a desert in December, Juan Diego's cloak reveals the image of Our Lady.
It is an image that adds to Advent hope.

God-With-Us

 

"There is one among you whom you do not recognize," says John the Baptist (John 1:26). He is referring to Jesus whom the people of his time do not yet know. His sentence also helps me to be more aware of the Presence of the Holy One in my life. Advent is a time not only to remember God-With-Us in a manger long ago, but also to reflect on God-With-Us right here, right now.
God-With-Us in creations of stained glass and light, like this one from the artist Dale Chihuly's exhibit last year in Pittsburgh. God-With-Us in movies like Juno and Enchanted. God-With-Us in the mystical music of Messiaen. God-With-Us in winter snow and summer sun and autumn trees and spring flowers. God-With-Us in all those who love us and in all those who need our love.

Just Get Out of the Way

 

"Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God," cries Isaiah the prophet and repeats John the Baptist. I remember years ago reading a book about prayer that said our job was to clear away the debris in front of us and God would do the rest. Sister Wendy in her helpful little book on prayer says over and over "Prayer is God's work."
Really even preparing the way is God's work also. We can do nothing without the Almighty and so we count on God to help us clear away the debris and settle down. The more I do centering prayer the more I see it as simply letting God know that I want to get out of his way so he can keep on making me more aware of his Presence and keep on making me more loving. My job is just to let it happen.

Searching for Santa?

 

On this feast of St. Nicholas at 8 o'clock in the morning I saw these three deer on my west neighbor's lawn. Then they went down on the shore and past my yard. By the time I got my camera and took this picture from my bedroom they were in front of my east neighbor's yard. They look too skinny to be of much use pulling a sleigh.
They are probably looking for water rather than St. Nicholas. What looks like water behind them is the Lake which froze during the night. This is the third or fourth time this year that it froze on a still night with the temperature in the teens. This is the first time I have ever seen deer in front of my house.
At 8 o'clock yesterday morning (maybe 8 AM has become the Magic Hour) I saw about six white birds, gulls or terns maybe, circling and landing on the yet unfrozen Lake. I laughed and said out loud, "You better keep on moving south!" In the next two or three minutes about thirty more birds floated down out of the sky like big snow flakes and settled on the Lake, huddling beside their buddies. Within an hour they were gone.
Both deer and birds a peaceful Advent surprise.

Advent Hope

 

About 8 o'clock this morning I saw this rainbow. This is the best picture I could get of it. The rainbow was not vivid but it was not this faint. I can't recall seeing a rainbow here in the morning. A symbol of hope?
Advent in the season of hope. I have had times in my life when hope was all that got me through. Hope is needed only when our reason tells us that there is no solution, no way out, no way to get this act together. Hope is clearly aware that we are totally dependent on God. It is like adoration with an eye to the future. With this kind of hope-filled adoration we can deal with whatever desperate situation comes our way.