"My soul longs for you, O God"

Daily Advent Meditations based on the Sermons of Joseph Kentenich

Fotos: Paul Cooper © 2004

Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?"
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

"My Soul longs..."

Daily Advent Meditations

Welcome! Advent is a beautiful season of longing. The days before the Miracle of Christmas are days when the deepest longings of the human soul finally rise to the surface again. They inspire us to direct our attention towards the God of love who sends his Son to save us and set us free. The measure of our Advent longing will be the measure of its Christmas fulfilment.

The following daily meditations are taken from the Advent and Christmas sermons of Father Joseph Kentenich, founder of the international Schoenstatt Family, held in Milwaukee, USA from 1962 until 1964. They make up a unique and powerful vision, coming from a deep faith and a well-tested love for the Lord and his Blessed Mother Mary. I have simply taken his witness and brought it together in a series of shorter meditations. The stories, prayers and examples used throughout are also exclusively from his sermons and preaching.

At the beginning of each meditation there is a short passage from Holy Scripture that highlights the message of Advent and the growing joy because Christmas approaches. The four weeks of the Advent Season have different themes, starting with the Sundays: Anchored in Hope, our Advent Longing, becoming "Another Jesus", and Mary, Dawn of Hope.

I hope that these daily Advent meditations will keep your longing for God alive as we await his coming. He comes into our lives to the extent that we open the doors wide, clear out all the clutter and debris, and lift up our hands in joyful welcome.

I wish you a very blessed Advent with great joy and love. May the Miracle of the Holy Night fill you with awe and a deep inner peace. May your hearts be touched again and again by the God of love.

Father Duncan McVicar, Schoenstatt Fathers, Manchester, England

First Sunday of Advent

Anchored in Hope

Yes, people of Zion living in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious to you when your cry for help rings out; as soon as he hears it, he will answer you. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is the way, keep to it,’. (Isaiah 30:19-21)

The deepest and most powerful melody of Advent is hope. Hope is its greatest message. What do we hope for in Advent? Our hope is founded on the faith that God will keep his promises - that God will come to us and save us, that he will bind himself to us for ever, that he will unite himself to us and share his life with us.

The letter to the Hebrews uses the unusual image of the "anchor" to characterize hope: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). Naturally there is a big difference between an anchor, in the everyday understanding of the word, and the "anchor of hope". The ordinary anchor is lowered into the depths of the ocean where it catches hold, but the "anchor of hope" is firmly secured in something infinitely greater than the ocean - it is secured in God himself, in the heart of the living God.

We cannot produce Advent hope all by ourselves. It is in essence a gift of the Lord. It is his special grace that he needs to pour into our hearts. We can’t claim Advent hope for ourselves. Through his gift we hope and trust that the Lord’s promises to us will be fulfilled – that includes everything he has promised! What is this "everything"? It is the expectation of the coming of Jesus into our lives. His life will fill our souls to the brim. God’s promise is nothing more and nothing less than Jesus himself.

Advent hope is nourished by three things: It is all about longing for the Lord, then trusting in the Lord, and working together with the Lord.

First of all, hope instills a profound longing for the Lord. It is a longing for God that has to be greater and more to the forefront of our minds that any other everyday longings. Ultimately it is a longing for salvation, a longing for the Saviour, so that he can enter in our hearts and set us free. It is a longing that God’s promises will be realized in each one of us.

Then, secondly, Advent hope consists in an unshakeable trust in the Lord. We trust that we mean so much to him. We trust that the one who awakens this deep thirst in us, will also quench this thirst. We trust that we will be liberated from sin and guilt. We trust in God’s mercy and his endless faithfulness to us, rooted in the power and certainty of his Word.

And thirdly, Advent hope is also nourished by working with the Lord. God will never be unfaithful to us - never. But there can be times, and there will be times, when we, for whatever reason, are unfaithful to him. Everything we do should have the Lord at its centre. Everything we do and achieve should happen in loving union with him - with the God who saves, who sanctifies. Simply because we are weak, because we are in need of mercy, we need to be able to count on the Lord. We all do what we can to the best of our ability and possibilities, but then we place our hands into the hand of the Eternal Lord and God.

Hope comes to visit us during Advent. We all need this hope in the future. Our own personal happiness depends on it. It doesn’t matter if we are children or teenagers, or if we are due for retirement, we all need the experience that hope gives. Imagine someone who has no hope. Despair would be just around the corner. Couldn’t that be what is meant by the pains of "hell" - existing without any chance or possibility of hope?

A New York department store’s advertisement campaign one year after the terrorist attacks of 11th September in New York, USA used the motto: "Hope - the latest craze". Advent is our special time to hope. It is the time to take stock of the quality of God’s gift of hope in our own lives. Is hope the "anchor" for my soul - firm and secure?

Monday, First Week of Advent

The Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24)

Genesis, the first Book of the Bible, paints a beautiful picture of the relationship between the Lord and Adam and Eve before the first sin ever happened. They had a deep union and a trusting and tender relationship. Then they followed the suggestion of the serpent and everything changed forever. Their relationship to God wasn’t the same; they hid from him, they began to blame each other and they had to leave Paradise. Leaving Paradise meant that they would also have to "leave" their deep and loving union with God. An angel with a flaming sword was placed at the entrance to Paradise, so that they would not be able to enter it. Finding that deep relationship with God would never be easy again.

A legend tells the story that as Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden to go into the world, they took something along with them from Paradise, something that would accompany them always. What was this mysterious companion? It was hope. They carried along with them the hope that the bonds of love that had been so weakened through sin would one day be made whole again. They carried along with them the hope that God himself would come and save his people and establish anew this life-giving union.

In the experience of our own faults and failings do we carry hope? When we look at the problems and pain of today’s world, are we also convinced that there is yet hope?

Tuesday, First Week of Advent

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. (Genesis 2:15-17)

Another example of the loss of Paradise and the emergence of hope is the epic poem by John Milton (1608-1674) "Paradise Lost". This poem recounts the story of Adam and Eve - how they came to be created and how they came to lose their place in the Garden of Eden, also called Paradise. It's the same story we find in the first pages of the Book of Genesis, expanded by Milton into a very long, detailed, narrative poem. After eating the fruit of the forbidden tree they have to leave Paradise, and God shows them the future events resulting from their sin. Adam and Eve are deeply pained at these revelations, but they also are shown something else - the Coming of Jesus Christ, the "greater Man" who will save humankind. There will be a new beginning. They feel a deep sadness and regret, mitigated by the gift of hope.

"Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal test
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us". (Book 1)
[Adam and Eve] looking back, all th' Eastern side beheld
Of Paradise, so late thir happie seat,
Wav'd over by that flaming Brand, the Gate
With dreadful Faces throng'd and fierie Armes:
Som natural tears they drop'd, but wip'd them soon;
The World was all before them, where to choose
Thir place of rest, and Providence thir guide:
They hand in hand with wandring steps and slow,
Through Eden took thir solitarie way. (Book 12)

Each one of us is caught up in this tragic loss of Paradise, our original home. But a little piece of Paradise has remained in us. That piece is hope. What role does hope play in our own spiritual lives? Do we look into the future with hope?

Wednesday, First Week of Advent

"Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake." (Mark 13:35-37)

Advent points us in the direction of "the last things". These "last truths" - like the mystery of death, judgement, and the realities of heaven, purgatory and hell - are not seen as threatening by Christians who sincerely try to live by faith each day. The early Church lived from these truths and drew energy from them. In the Middle Ages they were painted in Cathedrals and Churches, not just as some kind of graphic warning, but as a pledge of the world to come. These truths were meant to be "painted" into the human heart also, and become a sure sign of our hope.

We celebrate the Lord’s coming in three ways. He came to us in the stable of Bethlehem. He became a child for us. He accepted our human condition with all its humility and limitations. But he also comes to us through the sacraments of the Church - his "hidden hands" guiding us and reaching out to us on our daily journey. And he will come again on the Last Day. He will come in all his glory to take us home and save us. He will judge the living and the dead. On that day Christ’s followers will be invited to hold their heads high.

Thursday, First Week of Advent

He will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces. (Isaiah 25:7-8)

There are two main messages in the revelation of the "last days": Firstly, when the Lord returns in glory all truth will be openly revealed. Our true natures will be revealed. There will be no more masks, no more falsehoods or pretence. And secondly, as we await his coming at the end of time, we are called to reach out already for the ideals of Christian living - but to reach out in a sincere way.

Let’s look at the first message. If all our masks will be revealed one day, would it not be better and more genuine to remove all our "masks" here and now? There is a popular saying that offers good advice: "Live each day as if it were your last". In other words, live here and now without any masks, with no pretence. We free ourselves from the many "masks" we wear through the sacrament of reconciliation, through a regular evening prayer with an examination of conscience, or through a daily prayer for a happy death. We imagine ourselves in our last moments on this earth. In what spirit would we like to die? That should be the same spirit in which we live! It makes sense.

Friday, First Week of Advent

In accordance with his promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish. (2 Peter 3:13-14)

The second message is just as important as the first. Reaching out to live our Christian vision with sincerity is also a challenge of Advent. We know that there is often a gap between reality and the ideal - between lip service and life service. However, Advent means that every day we must start anew even if it means that at the end of the day we will have to admit our faults and our weakness again and again. Advent is the time to ask for the courage - and it needs courage - to start all over again. There is a story about St Francis of Assisi, that as he lay on his death bed he turned to his followers and encouraged them: Brothers, let’s finally begin to sincerely serve the Lord!" Even at the end of his life, so dedicated to God and to serving the poor, St Francis felt that he needed to finally start all over again.

Saturday, First Week of Advent

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go. O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea.

(Isaiah 48:17-18)

In his letter to the Romans St Paul gives us another example of what it means to live a truly Christian life. He describes it in a very concrete fashion. He says: "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of your sinful nature." (Romans 13:11-14) He doesn’t mince his words here. It’s all about putting aside the deeds of darkness and embracing the ways of light, and living as if we were always in the daytime. And then he encourages us with a final invitation - the ultimate bottom-line: "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ" - in other words - become "another Jesus" - nothing more, nothing less. And we know how hard it is to wake up from our slumber! Is it any harder to be a sincere Christian?

Second Sunday of Advent:

Our Advent Longing

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. (James 5:7-8)

Advent is all about the experience of longing. One of the oldest and most popular Advent hymns that is sung all over the world expresses this in a striking way: O come, O come, Immanuel... O come, thou Rod of Jesse... O come, thou dayspring... O come, thou key of David... In words and song the thirst for God and for the Eternal finds a voice. Christians are encouraged to rejoice, because the time of salvation draws near.

The unique symbols used throughout the Advent Season also lead us gently to this reality of longing. Consider, for example, the Advent Wreath: The green leaves point to hope and life everlasting, the candles that are lit one by one gradually light up the darkness with the message that the true Light of the world, Jesus, the Saviour is drawing near.

What is Advent longing? It is ultimately a thirst to be united to the Lord; it is the never-dying longing to experience in ourselves the fully redeemed Christian person. Longing is a yearning for someone or something that we know will do us a lot of good, someone or something that will contribute towards our complete well-being and safety. It is a longing for someone or something that we want to have completely for ourselves.

We are all created in the "image and likeness of God", so our longing for God is simply part and parcel of our human condition. This longing will never be fully satisfied as long as we journey here on earth. At the beginning of his "Confessions" St Augustine undertook to search the depths of his memory in order to trace his own journey of faith, and to discover God in the different stages of his life. He wrote in the first Book: "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in you..." (Confessions I,1).

Advent is all about longing. Our longing for God, our thirst for the divine, has to be a supernatural reality. This kind of longing is God’s gift, it is his grace, his initiative. This longing is initiated by him and returns to him as he leads us to himself. We experience this type of longing when we realize that, at the end of the day, our greatest longing is for the Lord. And this longing supersedes all others.

As human beings we long for many things: We long for good looks, sudden wealth, fame, popularity. We have longings for ourselves and for others. Even as we long for them we know that ultimately they will not make us happy or quench our thirst. Advent is the time to look through our many everyday longings and re-discover God himself as the object of our greatest and most basic longing. If we don’t thirst for him the most, our longing won’t last long and it won’t give us the "spark" we need to truly make room for God in our lives.

Sincere Advent longing is a reality that grows, it challenges, it often demands effort and even sacrifice. On our journey of faith, if we are content to strive as though we were just casually stepping over a "mole hill", we can’t expect it to release a great deal of spiritual energy and new life. We will only deceive ourselves into thinking we have achieved a great deal. In fact Advent longing is more like climbing a mountain. It is a longing that grows steadily, that reaches for the heights, isn’t quickly satisfied with the mediocre. It always wants just that little bit more, that little bit extra.

Monday, Second Week of Advent

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" (Isaiah 40:9)

What are my personal longings - here and now? Advent is that special time when we ask for the insight to "look through" and "look beyond" all our everyday longings and discover the greatest longing of them all - our thirst for God. Advent longing is a longing for God - longing for the God of life, for the God of our hearts. It is a longing to live in the deepest union with the Lord until we feel that our entire self is taken up into his presence. We long for Immanuel to come to restore us and renew us, although we also know that on this earth our longing will never be completely satisfied. Let us examine our everyday and ordinary longings. Can we "look through" and "look behind" them to discover the living God?

Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

Thus says the lord: "I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’" (Isaiah 41:13)

If God is the aim of our longing, why is it that we often struggle to find the way to him? Two answers: We expect too little from God, secondly, we expect too much from God.

We expect too little when God is still too much of an idea. Where do I get my help and support from? Do I really count on the Lord, do I really believe that he is at my side? God is often too little of a reality for us. That’s why he can’t be our "rock", or our guiding "staff". We expect too little from him because we haven’t sufficiently experienced his presence and love in our lives. We haven’t sufficiently experienced his power, his kindness, his complete faithfulness.

We can also expect too much from God. We think to ourselves: He should explain things to us; he should put his cards on the table. He should explain why our lives are the way they are. Things should be made clear and understandable. We want to tell him how he should do things. Why do we have to suffer anyway, why does this happen to us? He should show us his plans and then we will understand him better. Then he should give us what we ask! Isn’t it a part of Advent longing that we try to understand God’s plans for us? Should we be trying to change his plans to suit our own designs? Or should we change?

Wednesday, Second Week of Advent

The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27)

Take the time to be aware of God’s presence in your own heart and home. Become aware of your longing for God. This is a short prayer we could use:

Eternal Father God, let me never forget that I come from your fatherly heart, and that I will have a place in your heart forever. Let me never forget that I will called one day to take up that place - fully revealed and understood - for eternity. Lord, in your fatherly heart I will find my home. Amen.

(Joseph Kentenich)

Thursday, Second Week of Advent

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music. (Psalm 98)

Later on in his "Confessions" Augustine looked back on his life and memories. He examined why he had sought to discover God in his life, and how he discovered God. Perhaps we can find something of our own life-experience in his thoughts? He wrote: "And what is this God? I asked the earth, and it answered, "I am not he"; and everything in the earth made the same confession. I asked the sea and the deeps and the creeping things, and they replied, "We are not your God; seek above us." I asked the fleeting winds, and the whole air with its inhabitants answered, "...I am not God." I asked the heavens, the sun, moon, and stars; and they answered, "Neither are we the God whom you seek." And I replied to all these things which stand around the door of my flesh: "You have told me about my God, that you are not he. Tell me something about him." And with a loud voice they all cried out, "He made us.""(Confessions X,6)

In each one us there is this thirst for God and for union with God. When we finally notice that possessions and material things will never satisfy us, they will call out to us: "We are not your God; seek above us." How would we describe our search and longing for the Lord? Have there been times in our lives when we sought him more than at other times? Is there anything holding us back from giving our undivided heart to the Lord? What difference would it make if we found him?

Friday, Second Week of Advent

"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:25-31)

A French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, considered in his writings the in-born longing of the human race for God. In his book "Thoughts" he wrote this: "If man was not made for God, why is he only happy in God? If man was made for God, why is he so opposed to God?" (No.: 438). We are only completely happy and at peace when we discover God in the core of our own life and experiences. It seems strange that today there are so many influences that turn us away from encountering God. It also seems strange that we often get stuck with earthly things and possessions, instead of using them to reach our Lord and God. What do you think?

In the same book "Thoughts", Pascal offers us another consideration that puts our human longing for God into perspective. He comments: "There are only three kinds of persons; those who serve God, having found him; others who are occupied in seeking him, not having found him; while the remainder live without seeking him and without having found him. The first are reasonable and happy, the last are foolish and unhappy; those between are unhappy and reasonable. (No.: 257). To what kind of person do you think we belong?

Saturday, Second Week of Advent

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. (Psalm 35:4-9)

Our hunger for God finds its beginnings in the powerful reality of God’s personal love for us. The Prophet Jeremiah proclaimed the awesome truth: " "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness " (Jeremiah 31:3). God’s passionate love for us sparks off the longing in every human heart. He has loved us with "an everlasting love", he thought about us and looked upon us with "an everlasting love". We will always feel the longing for the eternal in us, because we too want to love for eternity.

What is our response to God’s everlasting love? As long as we are not fully united to him, as long as we cannot yet look upon the face of God, we pray with the Psalmist: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:2f). One day our longings will find an answer.

Third Sunday of Advent:

Becoming "Another Jesus"

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:3-5)

Advent longing is a sign of the purpose of our personal journey of faith - that each one of us becomes an original reflection of Jesus in our own lives. Each one of us is called to become "another Jesus". John’s Gospel proclaims the history-making message: "And the word became flesh..." (John 1:14). Jesus desires to "become flesh" in us. We make him present and active in the world through the way we live. We are his presence in the world.

This image of Jesus is unique to each one of us. God knows already what original image of Christ we will become. He sees not only the day of our birth, or how we will get through the many storms of life, he also sees us in eternity, sharing completely in his divine life. God gradually unfolds his original image of Jesus in us according to his plan. The aim of Advent longing is to help us become an original image of God’s love, wisdom and power.

St Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, once described the redeemed person in this way: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ we see the dawning of a new age and the creation of new life within. This new creation means that we live from the conviction that our entire existence comes from Jesus; we share the life of Jesus, we live like Jesus, we try to think and love like Jesus. If someone is "in Christ", he or she becomes a new person altogether. We always keep looking for the new dawn, new possibilities, new life.

We are all created in the "image and likeness of God" - each one in his or her own specific and original way. Our individual originality as "another Jesus" unfolds in our lives according to God’s purpose. What do we know about God’s plan? Firstly, we know that his plan is a plan of love. We are all "products" of God’s love. That’s why we yearn for love ourselves. We want to be loved, we need to be loved, and we also want to love others in return. Love is the key to understanding God; it is also the key to understanding the human person. Secondly, God’s plan is a plan of wisdom. Even when things look bleak or confusing, even when the situation is dire and we can’t find God, or see a "light at the end of the tunnel" - God is still unfolding his plan of wisdom in our lives. No one could create a better plan for us - ever. When suffering and troubles, hurts and disappointments come along, we would surely be able to bear them more easily if we believed and trusted that even these difficult experiences and situations are part of the Lord’s plan for us. Thirdly, God’s plan is a plan of power. Nothing can stop him from realizing his plan in us. His ways are often hidden, and he will use every path we take, every stone or obstacle that is placed before us, every unexpected occurrence and experience, every choice we make, to realize his great purpose for our lives more and more. We are all the "result" of his love, wisdom and mighty power.

Monday, Third Week of Advent

Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. (Psalm 71:3-6)

We are all a unique "result" of God’s plan - his plan of love, wisdom and power. God has an original purpose for each one of us. In general terms, his purpose is that we imitate Christ to the best of our abilities here on earth, and then share in God’s divine life forever in heaven. The original way in which each of us "becomes like Jesus" unfolds according to his plan for us.

Consider, for example, the life and times of Joseph of Egypt - the famous interpreter of dreams (see Genesis Chapters 37-50). At the beginning of his story he had a dream in which God showed him his destiny in life. The sun, moon and stars all bowed before him. He told this dream to his brothers, who for obvious reasons were not particularly happy at the thought that they should bow before him. So they sold him, made him a slave of the pagans. But they didn’t change God’s plan for Joseph. In fact, they were actually realizing his plan by doing this. He was put into prison. He had to suffer, and must have asked himself if this was truly God’s plan for him. Our human reasoning questions: Well how can this be fulfilling God’s plan when everything seems to be going wrong? However, we know how the Lord uses every situation, even when it looks dire and hopeless, to realize his plan step by step. God is not easily put off. Joseph then interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh and his destiny was fulfilled. He became, after Pharaoh, the most important and influential man in Egypt and later ended up saving his own family from famine and death. God took him by the hand. He guided him in wisdom.

There is so much we do not understand in our lives: Fate, sorrow and happiness, health and sickness - they are all mysteries. The wisdom of God is behind each and every event of our lives. He has a purpose for us and his plan will reach its final conclusion in eternity. Sorrow and the cross, suffering and sin, failures and guilt - God can use everything to reach the purpose he has foreseen for us. He knows us inside out, he knows what our passions are, what motivates us, as does no one and nothing else on this earth, he knows what our choices and decisions will be. All this is included in his plan.

Tuesday, Third Week of Advent

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34:1-3)

God has a plan of love, power and wisdom for us. Advent graces should make us sensitive so that we can see God behind the events of our lives, even when these experiences are difficult or painful. God knows that he cannot place a cross on our shoulders if we are not able to carry it.

There is a popular story about someone who had a very heavy cross to bear. He spoke to the Lord about it, and God told him to put his cross down and look for a cross that he could carry. Around him he saw a huge collection of crosses. He took his time and examined the different crosses; he tried one and then another. One cross was far too heavy, another was far too light. Finally he found a cross that fitted perfectly. He knew he would be able to carry that cross with dignity. When God saw which cross he had chosen, he smiled with a great love at the man. Then he said: "The cross you have chosen is the same one that you came in with originally!" The cross that God gives us is the only one that will really "fit".

In these Advent days we ask God to give us the peace and openness we need to discover him in every experience of our lives. When we discover him, we find again the amazing heart of God - a heart full of love, a heart full of wisdom, a heart full of power. Can we offer our shoulders to carry someone else’s cross?

Wednesday, Third Week of Advent

This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains..." (Isaiah 48:17-19)

God has always thought of us as an original reflection of Jesus. Each one of us is called to imitate Christ in a completely unique and original way. Each one of us reflects God in a special way - each according to his or her own possibilities and personality. For this reason, every human being has an individual dignity as an original reflection of Christ. Every child in the womb is already an original reflection of God. We may not and dare not kill God, therefore we may also not kill the original and unique image of God, the unborn child. We are not interchangeable parts of a huge machine, to be used and discarded at will. We are images of the God who created us and called us into being. We are not the "spare parts", we are all an original "thought of God" from eternity. Someone was thinking about us even before we were ever born or existed - and that someone was the Lord. Can anything or anyone stop us from being extremely happy today?

Thursday, Third Week of Advent

All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. (Psalm 145:10-13)

We cannot imagine the importance of learning to see ourselves and every human being as God Himself sees us. If only we could become aware again of how great and special each and every human person is in the sight of God! In spite of all our weaknesses and inner poverty, we all are extremely valuable in God’s sight. We are not "products of chance", we are not "accidents", but products of the never-ending love and wisdom of God. Enjoy it!

Friday, Third Week of Advent

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name." (Romans 15:4-9)

God created us in order to love us. He is love - his essence is to love eternally. None of us can say: "No one cares about me" or "no one is interested in me". It doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor, attractive or plain, young or elderly, we are always the focal point of God’s love. What does he ask of us in return? Nothing less and nothing more than to love him in return! This gives our lives meaning and purpose - God becomes the focal point of our love. Everything in heaven and on earth is a continuous call, an opportunity and invitation to love. We are set on fire with love from the moment that a lasting and passionate love embraces us - and we feel it. Always the same exchange - love for love!

Saturday, Third Week of Advent

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. (Psalm 118:1,25-27)

Each one of us is an original image of God. We are like "photographs" of God. If we want to appreciate the photograph better, we need to look closely at the "original". The original image is God himself. The more we see the original clearly, and love and recognize the original, the more we can value and appreciate the photos. What does this mean for daily life? If we want to be able to value each other properly, if we want to be able to understand each other better, and have a deep respect for each other, then we need to have a closer look at God, the original, and learn to see him and understand him better. For example, husband and wife in marriage, parents and children, colleagues at work. The more we look upon the original, the more light falls on the photos. We can see everyone and everything in a new and amazing light.

Fourth Sunday of Advent:

Mary, Dawn of Hope

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name. (Luke 1:46-49)

Advent is that special season when we long for Jesus to take on form in us. Mary’s mission is to care that this really happens. She is the "masterpiece" of God’s creation, she is the "mirror of hope", she is the "Advent dawn" that leads us securely to the true light of the world, Jesus Christ.

During the days of Advent we always celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (on 8th December). She shows us, and gives witness to, what grace can do in someone’s life. When we look at her, we can understand what the Lord also wants to achieve in us - the fully redeemed Christian person. She is a sign of the Lord’s light; we can be signs of light as well. She is a sign of the Lord’s peace; we too can spread peace, and dispel unrest and anxiety. Mary is a sign of the Lord’s victory; we too can be "success stories" of grace, and not necessarily some kind of "failure".

Mary, the Dawn, gives witness in her life to the three elements that nourish our Advent hope: Longing for the Lord, trusting in the Lord, and working with the Lord. Let’s look at each in turn. They can be an inspiration and help to us.

Hope means longing for the Lord. Together with the people of Israel, who were crushed under the yoke of Roman occupation, Mary longed for the Saviour, the Messiah. His coming would change everything. Mary’s longing reflects the unquenchable thirst of all humankind crying out for salvation and for liberation from everything that holds us back from sharing in God’s divine life. Even when the Saviour was born and came into the world, Mary’s longing didn’t end. She longed for him to be fully recognized by his own people, she longed for people to comprehend who he really was - God had become a human being - Immanuel, God-is-with-us. Indeed, she longed for the Lord.

Advent hope also means trusting in the Lord. If we really trust in someone, and it is a matter of vital importance to us, then different things have to happen - at least three. First of all, the person to whom we give our trust has to be in a position and have the possibilities to help us. Secondly, we need to be assured that this person only wants our well-being. And thirdly, we need to be confident that this person will stick by us no matter what.

Mary’s beautiful "Magnificat" - her song of gratitude and liberation - is a powerful testimony to how these three things ensured that she could completely trust in the Lord and in his promises. She sings: "the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name" (Luke 1:49). She believes that the Lord is "mighty"; he has endless possibilities to help and save. She trusts in the one who "has performed mighty deeds with his arm" (Luke 1:51). Then Mary gives witness to God’s love and mercy, that she has experienced in her life: "He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful" (Luke 1:54). The mercy of the Lord, the knowledge that he wants nothing else than our well-being, becomes another foundation for her tireless and all-encompassing trust in him. Will God, however, really stick by her no matter what? Mary’s song proclaims the faithfulness of God: "The Lord has come to the aid of Abraham and his descendants forever" (Luke 1:55). He would never leave her side, just as he never left Abraham’s side, or any of his descendants. He is the faithful God. When God wants to achieve something in us and for us, nothing will get in the way until he has fulfilled his purpose. That’s why Mary trusted.

Finally, Advent hope is nourished by our working with the Lord. How was this in the life and times of Mary of Nazareth? Think back to the marriage feast of Cana in Galilee. After noticing that the wine for the feast had run out, and after turning to her Son for help, Mary simply turned to the servants and said: "Do whatever he tells you!" (John 2:5). This is her only command, her only motherly request. She speaks from her own experience and life-concept: Whatever the Lord asked of her, she was ready with her unconditional "yes". She spoke her "yes" to the crosses in her life, to her own suffering; she said her "yes" to the unique mission that God gave her. This shows a key element in Mary’s character: She left the initiative with Jesus, she just wanted to be open to his will and wishes. She was completely "Godward", placing the Lord always in the centre of everything. What she did and achieved, she did and achieved together with him. She worked with the Lord.

It is not without good reason that Mary has always held such an important and essential place in Christian thought and life, especially in the special season of Advent. She is the one who bore God the Son, and she is the model of the Lord’s disciple, who truly lived a Christian life of hope - indeed, she is the Dawn of Hope.

Monday, Fourth Week of Advent

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham... and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:1,16)

If it’s true that each one of us is the "result" of God’s plan, it must also be true that Mary is the "most perfect result", in fact the "masterpiece" of God’s love, wisdom, and power. In a unique way she is the "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), that St Paul spoke about. She is the Woman who has "the touch of paradise" - redeemed from original sin, full of life. Mary, as the first of the Lord’s disciples, can show us in her life and faith what it means to follow Jesus. What are the experiences in Mary’s life than can give us strength on our journey? What gift could we ask for to help us prepare our hearts for Christmas?

Tuesday, Fourth Week of Advent

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Take some time to find a moment of inner peace, and pray: Blessed Mother Mary, we have given ourselves to you, and you have given yourself to us. We have made a covenant of love with you and you have made a covenant with us. From the depths of our hearts, we ask you: Care that our longing for the Lord will never decrease, and never be held back by slavery to possessions and material things. Break the chains that bind us here on earth. Help us to sing a hymn of love to the Lord, that echoes and re-echoes everywhere in our lives. Amen. (Joseph Kentenich)

Wednesday, Fourth Week of Advent

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. (Isaiah 9:2-7)

Mary is the Lord’s disciple who was given the gift of a perfect redemption. No one could be closer to the Lord than she is. We see her life as a sign of light, a sign of peace and a sign of victory.

She is a sign of light. How often we are more like signs of darkness. The grace of redemption will change something in us: We will slowly become like Mary of Nazareth, transformed into a bright sign of light - the presence of God in our world. She is a sign of peace too. Are we peacemakers? Do we work for peace in our families, at work? Do we work for peace wherever we are, or are we more like a sign of restlessness, of conflict? The grace of Advent is aimed at changing something in us so that we too become signs of peace - slowly, step by step. Our Blessed Mother is also a sign of victory. What about you and me? Are we confident in the victory of faith? Or are we more like a sign of downfall and ruin? Advent should awaken in us the confidence and the joy of following Jesus, that we too can become signs of his victory - the victory of love and life over hate and death - but slowly, step by step.

Thursday, Fourth Week of Advent

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zachariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (Luke 1:39-45)

St Paul gave witness again and again in his writings to the greatest secret of his Christian faith and experience: Living in Christ, existing in Christ. Everyone who has experienced a personal encounter with Christ can say and believe: Our entire existence is in Christ Jesus. We become a new creation. Christ’s life and being, his values and attitudes, become for us the measure and orientation of our own lives: the old is gone and all will become new (see 2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 6:15).

If we look at Mary of Nazareth, we see the first disciple who reflects in her life what it means to be a new creation. Truly the old had gone in her life: she was conceived without sin, her heart was never divided, she lived a life of love, she followed Jesus until the end. We too can be like her. The same graces that freed her, can free us. Mary is someone who was lucky enough to "get to know paradise". Mary helps us to spread a little heaven, if we ask her.

Let us kneel down for a few moments before the picture of our Blessed Mother and pray:
Let us, O Queen, reflect your image,
and walk through life entirely like you:
strong and noble, modest and kind,
spreading love and peace and joy.
In us go through our times
and make them ready for Christ.
(Heavenwards Prayer Book)

Friday, Fourth Week of Advent

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:3-38)

The aim and ultimate purpose of our faith is to imitate Christ. In fact, all Christians are called to be "another Christ" - each in his or her own original way. We know that on our journey of faith we will never fully become like Jesus. The closest we can get is to try and reflect Christ, by uniting our hearts and our striving to the closest companion of Christ in his work of salvation - Mary. If we become "another Mary", we can realize the life and attitudes of Christ in a powerful and unique way. What is there in Mary’s life that can help me to be "another Christ", "another Mary"?

Miracle of the Holy Night:

Peace on Earth

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."

(Luke 2:8-14)

A old legend tells the story of a hidden bell that is completely silent throughout the year, but when Christmas comes this bell starts to ring out joyfully. Where is this bell hidden? It is hidden in our own hearts. Christmas is the time when many longings and hopes come to the surface again. These yearnings need to be fulfilled.

The church bells call us and invite us: Come to Bethlehem and see what has truly happened there! When we set off and make our way to that little place of grace - our parish church, the shrine - what will we find? We will find the Saviour of the world in a manger. Are we free enough to leave everything else behind - our worries, our weaknesses, our troubles and distractions, our dependence on material things - and go to Bethlehem to be a part of this never-ending miracle?

What is the miracle of the Holy Night? It is an answer to that continuous, desperate call of the human race since the beginning of time - the yearning for peace. We yearn for peace in our own hearts, because we are all so inwardly divided. We yearn for peace in our families, because there are often conflicts and hurts. We yearn for peace in every nation, in all the world, so that our children can grow up in security and have a future. The bells ring out a call of peace to men and women of good will, because tonight in the town of David, in Bethlehem, a Saviour has been born for us, a Child has been given to us! The Miracle of the Holy Night is the birthday of the Prince of peace in our world. It is also the birthday of the gift of peace itself.

The peace that Christmas offers is a unique and lasting kind of peace. As the angels of heaven announced to shepherds in the fields that the Messiah had been born, they sang with one voice: "Glory to God in the Highest and peace to all people of good will!" (Luke 2:14). When will we have true and lasting peace? When we give God the glory, when we place God firmly in the centre of our lives. Whoever places the Lord at the centre, whoever has the freedom to detach himself or herself from everything that holds us back from truly loving God and our neighbour, will receive the gift of peace in their heart. This is the firm promise of Christmas. This is our prayer that we again bring to the Christ-Child in the manger: Give peace to our hearts, peace to our homes, peace to the whole world!

Christmas Day:

The Mystery of God in a Nappy

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it...He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14)

Together with the shepherds we go to the stable in Bethlehem. There we are able to encounter God himself - God who became a defenceless little baby - a baby in swaddling clothes - in modern terminology, a baby in a nappy. Is this not an incredible miracle? Is this not a wonderful mystery of the creative love of God? The Father sends us his Son, to be born of a Virgin, and they wrapped him in a nappy. The One who is God from God, and light from light eternal, the One who is the focal point of human history - past, present and future - lies before us in a nappy!

God in a nappy shows us the true nature of who God is. God is love. His love is full of compassion, full of mercy and wisdom. He loves us so much that the Son of God takes on our human condition and becomes like us. He grows like us, he is in need of love and affection like us, he is vulnerable like us. He will also suffer like us: God in a nappy, and one day God on a cross. God comes as a child to ensure that between him and us there are no barriers, no fears. Who would be afraid of a little child? He wants us to love him with all our hearts and with our own souls. The God of love only wants love. He wants to be hugged and cared for like a little child.

God who becomes a child so that we can love him, invites us to come closer. Christmas is a time to allow that deep and personal encounter with the Lord to finally happen in our own lives. We long for intimacy with God. Is there a better moment to take this all-compassionate love seriously? It invites us to a never-ending union with him. Every newborn child awakens love. The Christ Child also awakens the power of love in the human heart. He conquers us completely with his love.

This personal encounter with God changes our lives. We are forever changed. If we want to love the Saviour as he wants to be loved, if we want to let him enter our lives with no "buts" or "maybes", if we want to truly become like him, we will always find him in the arms of his Mother Mary. In the covenant of love with her we may bow our heads in adoration before the miracle of Christmas - God in a nappy! It’s amazing!

"My soul thirsts for you, my God" was compiled by Father Duncan McVicar for the Schoenstatt Pastoral Centre, Bolton from the sermons of Joseph Kentenich.