Another Kind of Advent to Bring to Work with Us...continued...
Continuing where we left off last time, we now turn to Our Blessed Mother, the Mother of Advent. She will help us in our endeavor to faithfully and consistently study the Bible. (As we learned last time, Scripture can be thought of as another kind of Advent.)
In recent discussions, we saw how Our Lady was fully recollected throughout her Advent, from the moment she proclaimed her "fiat" to the angel Gabriel ("Be it done unto me according to thy word"). Let's beg her intercession in a special way during Advent. We ask for the grace to remain recollected particularly by accompanying her during her visitation with her cousin Elizabeth, her days of waiting at home in Nazareth, her arduous journey to Behtlehem with St. Joseph. Working our way through the days of Advent, we can keep her in our thoughts and imagination. Just as she prepared for the coming of her son, the Son of God in the midst of her busy life, so too can we in the midst of ours.
From The Inner Life of the Soul, we learn how Mary's knowledge and understanding of Holy Scrpiture prepared her for that first Advent. She provides us with the perfect example for our own reading and study.
"She who is our pattern in her holy life, her intense humility, her ardent love, is our pattern, too, in the study of the Bible. Giving herself in her earliest years to God's service in the temple, her mind was saturated with the Hebrew Scriptures; the psalms of David were her constant songs; the mysterious sayings of the prophets formed the yearning of her soul. With desire she desired the Coming, the Advent, of the promised Messiah, Whose future advent at the last great day too many now desire to put far off into an eternity of delay. Let us follow, rather, the spotless Virgin's example, and try, as she did, to find everywhere the traces of the Eternal Word of God in His written and revealed Word, the Holy Scriptures, as interpreted by our Holy Mother the Church. Then we shall learn to cry ardently: 'Come. Lord Jesus! tarry not. How long, O God, how long?'"
Perhaps we too can be prepared, as was Our Blessed Mother. Perhaps we will learn, over a lifetime of reading and study, to "find everywhere the traces of the Eternal Word of God." To do that, we must take the time to read and study Scripture.
It's all about preparation. Just as the Holy Season of Advent prepares us for the coming of Our Lord, so too our time reading Holy Scripture serves as a kind of Advent throughout the year. Each day we prepare ourselves for what awaits us. That preparation helps us see God everywhere - for indeed He is everywhere.
As we leave for work, we see Him, waiting patiently to be our trusted source of strength, inspiration, consolation and counsel.
If the day's labor proves to be particularly long and exhausting, He will be our strength. If we're confronted with a difficult problem, He inspires us to find a solution. If we face a complex project with a looming deadline, He will be with us step by step. He will provide counsel and consolation when needed.
Our daily reading of Holy Scripture prepares both our intellect and our heart. We know He will help us, even as we know that He loves us. The examples of His Divine Assistance permeate the Bible, culminating, of course, in the Incarnation, when He, once and for all time, saved mankind from sin.
Along the way, we seek the aid and comfort of Mary, whose mind was "saturated with the Hebrew Scriptures." We draw inspiration from her example. Her knowledge of Scripture prepared her to grasp what the angel Gabriel explained, and accept her role as Mother of God. That's what makes her "fiat" ("Be it done unto me according to thy word") so awesome. She was fully aware of what was being asked of her. Before Gabriel's Annunciation, she may not have known that she would be the favored one, the virgin who would bear a child spoken of in the Old Testament before Gabriel's visit. But her understanding of Scripture prepared the way for her accepting God's Will.
So too our understanding of Scripture will prepare the way for us to accept God's Will this day and every day. As we head off to work today, let's be sure we follow her example:
"Giving herself in her earliest years to God's service in the temple, her mind was saturated with the Hebrew Scriptures; the psalms of David were her constant songs; the mysterious sayings of the prophets formed the yearning of her soul. With desire she desired the Coming, the Advent, of the promised Messiah..."
In recent discussions, we saw how Our Lady was fully recollected throughout her Advent, from the moment she proclaimed her "fiat" to the angel Gabriel ("Be it done unto me according to thy word"). Let's beg her intercession in a special way during Advent. We ask for the grace to remain recollected particularly by accompanying her during her visitation with her cousin Elizabeth, her days of waiting at home in Nazareth, her arduous journey to Behtlehem with St. Joseph. Working our way through the days of Advent, we can keep her in our thoughts and imagination. Just as she prepared for the coming of her son, the Son of God in the midst of her busy life, so too can we in the midst of ours.
From The Inner Life of the Soul, we learn how Mary's knowledge and understanding of Holy Scrpiture prepared her for that first Advent. She provides us with the perfect example for our own reading and study.
"She who is our pattern in her holy life, her intense humility, her ardent love, is our pattern, too, in the study of the Bible. Giving herself in her earliest years to God's service in the temple, her mind was saturated with the Hebrew Scriptures; the psalms of David were her constant songs; the mysterious sayings of the prophets formed the yearning of her soul. With desire she desired the Coming, the Advent, of the promised Messiah, Whose future advent at the last great day too many now desire to put far off into an eternity of delay. Let us follow, rather, the spotless Virgin's example, and try, as she did, to find everywhere the traces of the Eternal Word of God in His written and revealed Word, the Holy Scriptures, as interpreted by our Holy Mother the Church. Then we shall learn to cry ardently: 'Come. Lord Jesus! tarry not. How long, O God, how long?'"
Perhaps we too can be prepared, as was Our Blessed Mother. Perhaps we will learn, over a lifetime of reading and study, to "find everywhere the traces of the Eternal Word of God." To do that, we must take the time to read and study Scripture.
It's all about preparation. Just as the Holy Season of Advent prepares us for the coming of Our Lord, so too our time reading Holy Scripture serves as a kind of Advent throughout the year. Each day we prepare ourselves for what awaits us. That preparation helps us see God everywhere - for indeed He is everywhere.
As we leave for work, we see Him, waiting patiently to be our trusted source of strength, inspiration, consolation and counsel.
If the day's labor proves to be particularly long and exhausting, He will be our strength. If we're confronted with a difficult problem, He inspires us to find a solution. If we face a complex project with a looming deadline, He will be with us step by step. He will provide counsel and consolation when needed.
Our daily reading of Holy Scripture prepares both our intellect and our heart. We know He will help us, even as we know that He loves us. The examples of His Divine Assistance permeate the Bible, culminating, of course, in the Incarnation, when He, once and for all time, saved mankind from sin.
Along the way, we seek the aid and comfort of Mary, whose mind was "saturated with the Hebrew Scriptures." We draw inspiration from her example. Her knowledge of Scripture prepared her to grasp what the angel Gabriel explained, and accept her role as Mother of God. That's what makes her "fiat" ("Be it done unto me according to thy word") so awesome. She was fully aware of what was being asked of her. Before Gabriel's Annunciation, she may not have known that she would be the favored one, the virgin who would bear a child spoken of in the Old Testament before Gabriel's visit. But her understanding of Scripture prepared the way for her accepting God's Will.
So too our understanding of Scripture will prepare the way for us to accept God's Will this day and every day. As we head off to work today, let's be sure we follow her example:
"Giving herself in her earliest years to God's service in the temple, her mind was saturated with the Hebrew Scriptures; the psalms of David were her constant songs; the mysterious sayings of the prophets formed the yearning of her soul. With desire she desired the Coming, the Advent, of the promised Messiah..."
Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in our hearts!
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