Category Archives: Advent 2022

Advent and Christmas content

Beyond Words

Advent 2022, Advent 2023, Hope

We are a culture terrible at waiting. We are a microwave, ATM, movies on demand kind of society. We are a text happy, push notification people with express checkout and overnight delivery. We are a fast food culture, but we sometimes forget that this God we love and serve most often moves at a slow cooker pace. This is painful for us, his impatient children. God doesn’t mind keeping us waiting. One day for God is like a thousand human years (2 Pt 3:8).

With Christmas fast approaching, it gets more and more difficult
to wait on the coming of the Lord. We want the Santa decorations
put out before we’ve even had a chance to put the Halloween decor
away. St. Paul recognized this impatient, human longing; it’s why he
had to remind and encourage the Christians living in Corinth in this
second reading to be patient. “As you wait for the revelation of our
Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul wrote, “he will keep you firm to the end . . .because God is faithful.”

We can trust Isaiah’s words in the first reading, that the Lord will come in glory “for the sake of his servants.” God will send us a redeemer precisely because he loves us! While we wait, we need to be patient and watchful, living our lives in such a way that we are
ready for his return.

God doesn’t tell us the exact time he will come, but that is precisely because he loves us. For if we knew the exact date, how many of us would live sinfully until the last day, only to repent at the last moment? Knowledge of God’s exact plan and timing could breed
even more sin than ignorance of God. In this way, we are reminded to keep watch, to always be ready, and to be patient with the Lord. Despite the habits instilled by our modern culture, the best thing (God) is worth the wait.

This excerpt from One Sunday at a Time: Preparing Your Heart for Weekly Mass (Cycle B) is reprinted with permission of Ave Maria Press.

Epiphany: Guiding Star

Advent 2022

Like the wise ones who sought the Christ Child,

I have trekked for eons in the aimless dark,

Moving by faith within my inner landscapes,

Without a detailed map and full of questions.

In spite of all that seems void and doubtful,

My seeking of you has never been halted.

When the searching path to you grows faint,

You appear as my trusted Guiding Star.

A beacon of hope beckoning me onward

Manifesting your presence in surprising ways.

Today: I follow my inner Guiding Star.

Source: Fragments of Your Ancient Name, January 8

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul

Christmas Day 12: Looking Back

Advent 2022

As you look back on the year just completed:

What name would you give to last year’s journey?

How would you describe it to one of your friends?

What image or metaphor would you use to talk about it?

Who were your wise persons?

What did they reveal to you?

How did this influence your life?

What was most satisfying about the year?

What was least satisfying?

Today: I look at my past year and learn from it.

Source: Out of the Ordinary, p. 146

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul

Christmas Day 11: Freshness

Advent 2022

If we are to walk into the new year with hope,
we need to look to God, as well as ourselves.
When we look to the scriptures we learn
how much God desires new beginnings for us.
This is a constant theme through the sacred Word.
God refreshes, renews, heals, blesses, makes whole,
cleanses what has become mired,
clears what has become blurred,
restores what has died,
recovers what has gone astray.

Today: I renew my relationship with the Holy One.

Source: Fresh Bread, p. 20

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul

Christmas Day 10: At the Gate of the New Year

Advent 2022

Sacred Mystery,
waiting on the threshold
of this new year,
you open the gates
and beckon to me:

“Come! Come!
Be not wary of what awaits you
as you enter the unknown terrain;
be not doubtful of your ability
to grow from its joys and sorrows.
For I am with you.

I will be your Guide.

I will be your Protector.

You will never be alone.”

Today: I remember that I am never alone.

Source: Out of the Ordinary, p. 145

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul

Christmas Day 9: Being on the Road

Advent 2022

Our life is a journey.

We are always on the road.

Each time another January greets us,

we have an opportunity to pause,

to see where we have been,

to notice how far we have come

and ponder how that journey has been for us.

Today: I reflect on how my journey has been.

Source: May I Have This Dance?, p. 20

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul

Christmas Day 8: The New Year

Advent 2022

Guardian of this new year,

I set aside my fears, worries, concerns.

I open my life to mystery, to beauty,

to hospitality, to questions,

to the endless opportunity

of discovering you in my relationships,

and to all the silent wisps of wonder

that will draw me to your heart.

Today: I move beyond concerns and worries.

Source: Out of the Ordinary, p. 145

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul

Christmas Day 7: Letting Go and Welcoming

Advent 2022

Each new year extends an invitation
to re-enter the process of transformation,
for self and for our world.
We stand at the threshold,
looking back and looking ahead.
This valuable process involves
a deliberate letting go of the past
and an intentional welcoming
of future possibilities.
We will make choices and decisions
in the coming year that will create our reality.
We live on a wounded planet
and share life in a world of suffering humanity.
But we do not despair.
The Holy One continues to awaken us.
We have what we need to bring peace
within ourselves and our world.

Today: I let go of the past and welcome the future.

Source: Prayer Seeds, p. 141

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul

Christmas Day 6: The Road of Life

Advent 2022

Another year is coming to an end.
I can feel her tug at my calendar.
I can sense her insistent movement.
I can hear her call to cross over.

Something in me wants to hold on,
to gather all the good things close to me.
A part of me that yearns for security
keeps encouraging me to grasp it all.

Then a tiny thimble-full of light
moves its way through my insecurity;
it weaves a thread of courage,
sending sparks into the dark.
Up and up it rises through my spirit
until it meets my controlling grip.

Today: I am ready to risk the road of another year.

Source: May I have This Dance?, pp. 18-19

This reflection from Anchors for the Soul: Daily Wisdom for Inspiration and Guidance by Joyce Rupp is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
https://www.avemariapress.com/products/anchors-for-the-soul