Second Sunday of Advent, 6 December 2020
In today’s reflection, Waiting in Joyful Hope author Michelle Francl-Donnay reflects on Isaiah 40:9b, Psalm 43:3, and Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi.
In the comments section below, share your own response to today’s scripture, Francl-Donnay’s reflection, or the accompanying meditation prompt.
I have yet to get a copy of this year’s advent book; however, I loved reading in the introduction,
“The manger is an invitation to contemplation.”
Amen! Here’s to the importance of stopping and taking inventory. It’s truly a great time of year to be fully awake!
Welcome Christina! Here’s to being awake together!
Having read Spe Salvi again this past summer, today’s meditation reminds me of an important point Benedict XVI made about shaping Christian hope: what may we hope? And what may we not hope? Are all of my hopes rooted deeply in the Kingdom of God or are they from some other kingdom? May God’s light and fidelity be my guide.
When I was a child, Christmas meant presents. Even the Advent calendars I was given contained daily toys or candy. As my birthday is the day after- no, I was never cheated- it all rolled into one celebration. In my adolescence, I focused on the lessons in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: be generous with all we are given. I didn’t actually celebrate Jesus’ birthday until my in-laws sang Happy Birthday on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t until I was on bed rest during Advent, at the end of my pregnancy, that I finally began to think about the Holy Family. Raising our son, we focused on Jesus, the story of His birth. Journeying with Greg, Glenn and I have felt His presence with us and in the human angels He sends our way. This year I realize Advent is about the Second Coming. Jesus is with us already! Our Messiah came! He will come again!