Advent reflections

The image you see above is a digital montage by Barbara Desrosiers, and is entitled Luminous Dawning

Meditating upon the birth of the Christ-child led me to combine the images of a baby, a cathedral, and dancing light. Luminous Dawning is an attempt to hint at the power of faith, the protection of the Almighty, and the eternal birth of hope despite this world of pain. Upon the completion of this piece I found a kindred spirit in the words of Meister Eckhart.

“The awakened heart is like a luminous sphere just giving without thought to any who may come close or gaze at it. The soul becomes blessedly lost to all but its own holy being.” ~Meister Eckhart, Jerusalem

The web site Explore Faith features a section, A Time of Miracles, which includes reflections on the seasons of Advent and Christmas. I've used a couple of them for our family's evening Advent reflections.

Last night, though, I was busy trying to get caught up with cookie baking, and had spent a large part of the day trying to find clothes with my daughter. And then driving home in almost blizzard conditions. My Advent/Christmas spirit was almost nonexistent, and I was thinking, "Heck with this--we can just skip the candle thing tonight." But my husband pursuaded Son in Ohio--the one who isn't into the whole "God" thing--to look for a poem. And Son actually came through with something quite lovely...

Someday, Perhaps
Judith A. Lindberg

It begins long before the first frost -
Somewhere between memory and reality.
It touches us with compassion
and whispers to us of hope.
It tiptoes into our hearts with elation
and opens our souls to faith.

Its name is Christmas and we have yet to learn
How to keep it close for more than
this one brief, shining moment.
Someday, perhaps... with love.