.jpg)
This is the first nativity scene I ever had. My cousin Margaret, whom I visited this past fall in Calgary, Canada, gave it to me when she had traveled in France as a young woman.
Spirit, spirit of gentleness,
blow through the wilderness, calling and free,
Spirit, spirit of restlessness,
stir me from placidness, wind, wind on the sea.
You moved on the waters, you called to the deep,
then you coaxed up the mountains from the valleys of sleep;
and over the eons you called to each thing;
“Awake from your slumbers and rise on your wings.”
You swept through the desert, you stung with the sand
and you goaded your people with a law and a land;
and when they were blinded with idols and lies,
then you spoke through your prophets to open their eyes.
You sang in a stable, you cried from a hill,
then you whispered in silence when the whole world was still;
and down in the city you called once again,
when you blew through your people on the rush of the wind.
You call from tomorrow, you break ancient schemes.
From the bondage of sorrow all the captives dream dreams;
our women see visions, our men clear their eyes.
With bold new decisions your people arise.
(James K. Manley (20th century), hymn-writer. Published in Everflowing Streams (1981). "Spirit," l. 1-4 (1978).)
As we prepare for the birth of our Lord Jesus, we invite you
to share some Advent scenes at the House of Prayer.
To join in our joyful celebration of the Incarnation, we invite you
to spend time with some Christmas scenes at the House of Prayer.
For the first time in my life I baked a flourless chocolate cake yesterday. I am wondering if it is like "Chocolate Decadence," which was once a popular dessert in the 1980s. A friend was having a dinner party last night, and when I volunteered to help, she gave me this recipe. It was somewhat complicated, but well worth the trouble.In the darkness of the season, in the silence of Mary’s womb,
new life waits and grows.
Hope is shaped in hidden places,
on the edges, in the depths
far from the blinding lights and deafening sounds of consumer frenzy.
In the darkness and silence of my own life,
I wait,
listening for the whisper of angel wings,
longing for a genuine experience of mystery,
hoping for a rekindling of joy and the establishment of peace.
I lean into the darkness
and silence.
Expectant.
"The Five" at DC and AA's wedding 9-2-06John Dear has written an excellent article about Advent, Advent: Time to be on the look out.
He writes:
"The Gospel would shake us from our weariness. 'Don't sleep while Mumbai burns. Don't yield to the culture's allures: shopping, selfishness, indifference, violence and war. Don't act as if there is no God, as if change is impossible, as if there's nothing you can do. Don't sleep as apocalypse encroaches. Don't remain unaware of the world's agony. Wake up! Look around! See what's happening. Get ready for peace!'"
And then goes on with this:
"And so this Advent let's become visionaries. Let's reclaim our imaginations and say "Yes, we can. Yes, a new world is possible; indeed, a new world is coming" --- a new world without war, poverty, nuclear weapons, violence or global warming. Get ready for it. Urge others to prepare. Such preparation is the spiritual task at hand.
"A final blessing. May these holy Advent days renew our lives, lead us to peace, fill us with grace and hope, disarm our hearts, turn us back toward the God of peace, and make us faithful watchers, ready for Jesus and his Christmas gift of peace.
"Together, we sing: 'O come o come, Emanuel! Come, Lord Jesus.'"
Go here to read the entire article
Last night I attended the annual AIDS Day memorial service, which was at my church this year. It was a small gathering, as the service had not been well advertised. Still, it was lovely, especially the music.
