The Longest Night

 

As I write this on December 21, we are officially 9 minutes away from the winter solstice occurring at 10:58 a.m. EST. The shortest day and the longest night. On Wednesday, December 22, the people will–as they have for thousands of years–be celebrating the solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. This monument was constructed around 4500 years ago, likely by farmers and herders. Ancient cultures built such structures to align with the sun at specific times, some performing sacred rituals at sunset each day to ensure its return the next day.

 According to a Newsweek article, “When people talk about the winter solstice they are often referring to an entire day. But technically this astronomical event occurs at a specific moment in time—the point in the year when the Earth's North Pole is pointing farthest away from the sun. The solstice marks the shortest day of the year and the beginning of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The day on which the December solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere has the fewest daylight hours and the longest night.”

How appropriate that this takes place during our Advent, our season of waiting. During Advent we quickly approach the darkest night of the year. Our days are shorter and colder. This is part of a cycle that repeats year after year, age after age. Pre-Christian peoples associated this natural phenomenon with their religious beliefs. They experienced the disappearance of the sun as a loss of life. Yet, they had rituals to lure back life and hope. Nature and mystery were combined. They seemed to suffer from, what we call, separation anxiety. They longed for light and life. They thought ritual observances would restore their precious sun. Their solution was to bring all ordinary action and daily routine to a halt. 

We do experience a loss of light, perhaps even a feeling of separation during the season of Advent. Yet, we, like our ancient ancestors, have customs and rituals that symbolize our longing for Christ, our Light. At evening prayer on December 17, we chanted the first antiphon of a seven-day series. These O Antiphons are to be sung at the Magnificat on the seven days before the vigil of Christmas. As our natural world waits in stillness for a brighter dawn, our own anticipation and longing grows as even our liturgy pleads to our Savior with the cry “Come!” The fifth antiphon is addressed to the Morning Star. It falls on December 21, the darkest day of the year. “O Morning Star (Zech 6:12), brightness of eternal light (Heb 1:3) and Sun of Justice (Mal 4:2), come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.”

We long for the splendor of Christmas. The excitement is palpable. Decorations are in place, special cookies are made, gifts are ready (for the most part!). We are ready. Today marks the first day of winter in the world. But, for Christians, winter is over. The time for love has come. 

Merry Christmas! --Sr. Eileen O'Connell, OSB

P.S. On a personal note, I was lucky enough to visit Stonehenge several years ago. It is fascinating and does not disappoint! To learn more about Stongehenge or to view the sunrise earlier this morning, visit this website: English Heritage Stonehenge

Are You Ready?

 Am I ready? From December 1st until the 31st or from the beginning of Advent until Christmas Day many of us seem to be assessing our preparedness for holiday observances. There may be shopping and gift wrapping involved; there may be card writing, phone calling, reservation making, cookie baking, and visiting on our “to do” lists. And, of course no preparation is complete with taking the time and energy to rest and reflect on why we do what we do.  

Our First Sunday of Advent Scriptures shout to us, “the days of fulfillment are at hand”. There is a sense of the cycle of life embedded in this message. A season is ending; another anticipated – just like in the garden where the annuals have died and need to be taken out and the daffodils and other bulbs planted for spring. As in the garden, the preparatory transition will go better with gentleness and patience. If you are like me, you get focused on what needs to be done and lose the spirit of the season. So perhaps the invitation here is to be alert to opportunities to be kind and to be thoughtful of others, so that our festivities at Christmas and other holidays will truly be what we intend for them to be, celebrations of love and bringing “the whole family” together, in spirit if not physically.



This year, especially, as the threat of Covid continues to haunt us, we are reminded to respect the needs and choices of others. Indeed, family members and friends may be at a distance geographically, but are kept near in our hearts. Likewise, the serious divisions within our society are in need of our acceptance and healing. The promise of Messianic fulfillment is the Reign of Justice and Peace. Let us be ready for the coming of the Lord first of all by fixing our hearts on this and then directing our hope, love and caring outward from ourselves to all of creation. Come, Lord Jesus Christ! -- Sr. Dorothy Schuette, OSB

Come, Lord Jesus!

         When I taught 8^th grade in one of our parish schools years ago, I spent some time developing the idea of Advent with my students. One  particular year brought it home to them in a way I certainly never expected.

          I tell the students that the word comes from the Latin “ad” meaning “to” or “toward”, and “venturus”, meaning “the coming”, future tense.

          So we celebrate by remembering the first coming of Jesus on Christmas day, and hearing much in the scriptures about his second coming at the end of time. And of course, the children are always aware that “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”      So many comings!

But, in between there are other comings of Jesus, in our daily lives, in the persons we encounter, and events of the day. And - Jesus tells us, “Be ready, for you do not know the day or the hour.”

I would tell the children about my little 9 year old brother Billy who was dying during Advent of the year I was a sophomore in high school. On Dec. 8 I had spent the day with him in the hospital, talking, playing games with him and just being there. He came back home for Christmas. But, On Dec. 29, Jesus came for him, as we gathered around his bed, waiting. I’ll never forget how his eyes opened wide during the coma, focusing on Someone or Something bright in the corner of the room. And then he was gone. It was so awesome! I’ll never forget.

The students are always very quiet when I talk about this.

Well, after a few days, they went home for Christmas break. One of the girls, named Patty, went Christmas caroling around the neighborhood, and when she came home she was tired and lay down to rest on the couch. Later, her mother could not waken her. A day or so later, Jesus came for her. When the students came back after Christmas, there was Patty’s empty desk. What an Advent lesson that was!

Advent this year has been most adventurous for me as I was taken to the Emergency room on the first Sunday, and have had a lot of unexpected time to spend with the Lord exploring His coming in my life while I recuperate.

The Lord comes to us in so many ways! I find Him in the loving care and concern that has been given to me from the nurses, doctors, Sisters in my community, the students and school personnel, and my family. I learn from them all how to be more compassionate and thoughtful of others. And I am overcome with gratitude.

          Yes, Jesus is Coming! Are we ready for Him at any time? As in the book of Revelation,  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.  He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Sr. Mary Carol Helllmann, OSB

The Cataracts of Advent

       I was intrigued by the two very different meanings of the word cataract: the rush of mighty water over a precipice vs. the opaque film that impedes sight with advancing age. How did the root of this word take such differing paths?

       The Greek kataractes means something that is rushing or swooping down. It became transferred into Latin in the form of cataracta, and thus could mean a waterfall or a portcullis (grated gate, a safeguard to a castle)

       From about the 16^th c. the word cataract began to be used as a simile for the film that obstructs light from entering the eye. In that sense it is closer to the portcullis, which would slam or rush down to prevent an enemy from getting in. The cataract of the eye neither slams nor rushes nor swoops, but it obstructs quite well.

       Waiting for a date for cataract surgery is waiting for the light. No more will the brain have to work to equalize the corrected with the blurry. This cataract of Advent will soon give way to clearer vision, to a vision of the Lord Jesus coming in power, as in a cloud of light.

Sr. Christa Kreinbrink, OSB

O Wisdom

“O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who orde’rest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go.  Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!”- We sing in the famous Advent Hymn.

       Today, December 17, marks the beginning of the immediate preparations for the Feast of Christmas with the singing of the O Antiphons at Evening Prayer each of these 7 days. At this monastery we will chant a version translated by Sr. Colleen: 

“O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love:

 come teach us to walk in the  paths of knowledge.”

       Who or what is wisdom, that we are calling on to COME?  “Wisdom” (Old English, witan, “to know”; Latin, videre, “to see”), is a gift of the Holy Spirit that, according to Catholic theology, is a special grace of the Spirit to help one practice virtue more perfectly.  Wisdom is a kind of knowledge in the sense that it allows one to understand God’s purposes and the divine will.

       In the Hebrew Scriptures, wisdom (a feminine noun) is God’s first creation (Sir 1:4) and is frequently associated with “fear of the Lord” – an expression that means reverence for the Lord

    .  In the New Testament, Paul identified Christ with God’s wisdom (1Cor 1:24) when he attempted to express Christian reliance on Christ crucified and to distinguish Christian faith from the empty wisdom of Greek learning.  Relating wisdom to God’s incarnate Word, as Paul does, and to divinity itself, as Sirach suggests, indicates that wisdom is not a human virtue or a skill that can be acquired through self-effort.  As the author of Proverbs put it, God gives birth to wisdom (8:22). While creatures can discover and understand valuable knowledge, wisdom always originates with the creator God.  (Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Richard Mc Brien, ed.)

“O Wisdom, who comes from the mouth of the Most High, reaching to the ends of the earth with tenderness and power, come and teach us the way of prudence.”

       In our Lectio time these days, let us create our own prayer to God each day, using these titles for Christ, as the symbols change in the big O on our Chapel banner:                                                                                     O Leader of the House of Israel….Come! 

O Root of Jesse….Come! 

O Key of David….Come!

O Radiant Dawn….Come! 

O Ruler of Nations….Come! 

O Emmanuel….Come!

                                                                                       Sr. Mary Tewes, OSB

Good News

Second Sunday of Advent: Gospel by Mark

       " As it is written in Isaiah......Behold I am sending my messenger ahead of you....

John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."

       WOW      Folks all around were coming to him and were baptized  in the Jordan river as they acknowledged their sins. But this prophet,John,  proclaimed to them. "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.  I have baptized you with water; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  DOUBLE WOW !! !

                        THE GOOD NEWS of the LORD.

       Thomas Merton in his book, The Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, relates that all too often we get so used to hearing  the Scriptures read in Church that we classify them as " traditional theology" versus a startling current amazing news event  at which we perk up our ears and embrace this GOOD NEWS.

        During this Advent season, let us practice listening to the Scripture readings especially the Gospel. with renewed fervor and a WOWED hearing ear.

        Sr. Joan Gripshover, OSB

Busyness and Waiting

During these days of Advent I have been struck by the cohabitation of waiting and busyness.  Advent invites us to wait for Christmas in quiet, joyful anticipation even as the prophets and hymns urge us to hurry and make our hearts ready.   The climax builds as Christmas draws closer and we celebrate God incarnate.

Our society is busy about shopping and making preparations.  I find myself rushing around a store on my lunch break to get a bargain and then waiting, for longer than planned, in the line to check out.  Full days at work are followed by evenings of furious knitting or baking.  This is a season of great generosity and giving as people make donations of money, goods and time.

I have found this year  in particular a sense of gratitude for the waiting amidst my busyness.  Those moments have become opportunities to experience the joy and recognize Christ presence in the midst of it all.  Seeing Christ in the generosity and kindness of people reaching out to strangers.  Seeing Christ in the opportunities to give and to receive.  Seeing Christ in the delightful children waiting in line in front of me who brought smiles to the face of many and kept impatience at bay.   May we each be graced in these last days of Advent with moments of waiting and busyness as we prepare our hearts, complete our to-do list and celebrate with great rejoicing God incarnate.       Kimberly Porter, OSB

  

Advent Emptiness; God’s Fullness

     There are many themes for Advent: peace, hope, joy, love, waiting patience, desiring, preparing, expecting, longing, and emptiness. In this reflection I would like to consider emptiness.

     The experience of emptiness can bring up disconcerting/scary feelings of fear, loneliness, alienation, and is most often avoided. However, the emptiness of Advent offers us something different. Mary’s emptiness and receptivity allowed her to be open to the Word becoming flesh. In Carryl Houselander’s book the The Reed of God Mary’s emptiness opened her to be “a reed through which the Eternal Love was to be piped as a shepherd’s song.” Mary continually received the breath of God, embraced this breath which guided her entire life. The melody of her life continues to encourage and inspire us also to be conduits of God’s abiding life. 

     In becoming flesh Jesus emptied himself, redeemed and graced our lives. What he asks of us is to become partakers of his life and channel the Divine love to one another. As the image of the empty, hollow reed allows the breath of God to be transmitted through us; our humanity is used by God to channel God’s goodness to humankind. How we pray, cherish one another, respond to human needs is a manifestation of how open we are to God’s funneling ongoing redemption through us. For as Christ has told us “whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters you do unto me.”

     Whether considering myself a “reed” or a “channel” the need for emptying of self  through patient listening, letting go of interior clutter and chatter, and openness to the indwelling of Divine love are essential.

     Perhaps a question to consider this Advent: How can I allow my life to become a hollow reed so that God’s love can be channeled through me? How can I open myself and be more vulnerable to the transforming love of Christ who continually gives life?

     Sr. Aileen Bankemper, OSB

Advent: our time of waiting

     Have you ever had the experience of waiting for a baby to come?  There is much anticipation and excitement while getting ready.  There is expectation and hope and much preparation. 

     This is our Season of Advent.  We are indeed waiting for a baby to be born.  The baby is very special, He is our Savior!  While the Jewish People were awaiting the Messiah and Mary and Joseph were awaiting the birth of Jesus, there was much hope and anticipation. 

     Although Jesus was born over 2000 years ago, we must also live this reality in our own lives to make it present to us today.  We do this through our celebration of the various feasts of the Church.  We do this through our celebration of liturgy and our celebration of the Church’s liturgical year. 

     The liturgy of Advent is rich and meaningful.  Through it, we enter into the mystery of Jesus and the mystery of waiting and anticipation.  This is why the Church insists on the Season of Advent as a time of waiting and preparation.  However, our culture is such that we must always be very busy about so many things.  Like the Gospel, when Jesus tells Martha, his friend, “You are worried and busy about so many things, only one thing is important.”  In Advent, that one thing, is preparing ourselves for the coming of Jesus into our hearts, to live Jesus’ way of life, and to prepare for the final coming of Jesus at the end of time. 

     This Advent, let us become less concerned about so many “things” and center in on the real meaning of the Season.
     Sr. Barbara Woeste, OSB

Christmas shopping, Advent and Monastic Life

     December 17 is the day the O Antiphons begin. I look forward to Dec. 17-23 when we chant these hauntingly beautiful antiphons at the Magnificat. 

     The timing of the first antiphon, “O Wisdom”, signals to me that it is time to do Christmas shopping. I put it off for two reasons: one, so that I might remain immersed in the Advent spirit as long as possible and not be barraged by Frosty the Snowman in the stores; two, because I need the pressure of dwindling days. 

     I make a list—it isn’t long—and even list stores to visit. I plan out a driving route that makes sense and set out. Every year my experience is similar. In the first couple stores my targeted gifts do not exist. Well, the evening is early, I think, and the stores are open late. I proceed on. Then I find something. Just perfect. And beyond what I am willing or able to pay. I stand there in the store and have a monastic experience. You are a sister with a limited budget. Poverty is a real commitment. But the temptation to overspend is there. The prices and the bustle around me are daunting. I have stood in this aisle for 15 minutes! Do I look as poor as I feel? Will this lesser gift be ok? Whose standards do I use? 

     And is this even a monastic experience of poverty, or rather a common one among those who have little? By the time I finish shopping I have had to wrestle with my commitment, the true meaning of being poor and being rich, and my guilt over bypassing the Salvation Army bellringer. I know what I am in for, and the 17^th will be here soon. 

        Sr. Christa Kreinbrink,, OSB

Advent

Give comfort...
Speak tenderly...
Prepare the way...
Today...and today...and today...
          this man
          this woman
          this child
Until Christ comes...  in glory!
           Sr. Sharon Portwood, OSB

Advent: the season of rich promise

     Advent, from the Latin adventus, coming, is a joyous season in the church year. The long, dark winter nights are conducive to silence and reflection. The liturgy is rich in symbolism and heavy with meaning. Two of my favorite antiphons coming at the end of Advent beautifully express the sense of the season. On December 21 at morning prayer the liturgy consoles and assures us with the promise, “Do not be afraid; in five days our Savior will appear.” You can count on it! I have always loved that antiphon and each year I look forward to praying it. It expresses the hope and expectation that is characteristic of Advent. It stirs in me memories of the excitement I felt as a child counting the days for Santa to come. At morning prayer on December 24 we pray “Today you will know that the Savior is coming and in the morning you will see the glory of God.” Today is translated from the Latin, hodie, which means this day, in the present, now. This day you will know; in the morning you will see. As I write an inner voice responds, “I can hardly wait!”             

     Be watchful, be alert, be prepared. Rejoice, Jesus is coming. The church places this heightened language on our lips during Advent as we await the threefold comings of Jesus Christ that Christmas celebrates: his birth at Bethlehem, his coming in glory at the end of time and his presence among us now. Perhaps the excitement and anticipation leading to the Christmases of my childhood were preparing me for a richer Advent today and for the truly amazing gift that Christmas proclaims and celebrates.

                                 Sr. Justina Franxman, OSB