Beginning of Advent Reflection

Chris Novak and Br. Kevin Kriso, OFM, offer their thoughts for the beginning of Advent. Please share your thoughts and reflections.

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Reading 1
Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7

You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands


Gospel
Mk 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

By Chris Novak
As the Advent season begins, several ideas and themes come to mind. The readings for the first Sunday of Advent tell us this is a season of waiting and preparing for the birth of Christ. However, simply doing those things isn’t enough. Christ calls us to actively wait and prepare. One of the biggest teachings He gave us was to love one another as we love ourselves. Although we should remember that all year, it seems to be more prevalent during this time of year. Actively waiting and prepares asks us to follow Christ’s example and live our lives for others. I have learned this from watching what my mother does every year at this time.

My mother participates in a community toy drive through a charity organization. Parents of families in low income areas in our community write Christmas letters to the organization, listing items they want to give to their children, but simply cannot afford them. Other people in the community choose one of lists and purchase the items for the children. The parent who wrote the list will receive the items just before Christmas Day and will have gifts to give their children.

We often talk about this time of year being full of commercialism and materialism, and doing something like this can easily fall into those trends. However, looking at the motivation behind the actions can reveal the true meaning of it. I’ve been fortunate enough to always have presents under the tree on Christmas morning. But from what I learned from my parents, the act of giving a gift is more than just getting me something I asked for. It’s about the joy of giving someone a loving and accepting feeling. My mother knows this feeling. When she participates in this program every year, she knows what it’s like as a mother to give her children that feeling and wants other mothers and fathers to experience that feeling too.

Based on her example, I also participated in this program. As an officer in a high school club a few years ago, I suggested we choose a list. Each member of the club was responsible for buying one item on the list and we donated all of them as a group. It made me realize the importance of giving others something I had: the support of a family who could provide for me.

During Advent, we are asked to prepare for Christ’s birth. It’s a good chance for us to examine what we have and what we can give to others. As we prepare, we need to recognize the reason behind our preparing. For me, it’s to more closely follow Christ’s example. His birth marked the beginning of the life we as Christians want to live. Christ lived his life giving to others. Maybe that’s why we give gifts to those we love today. And although material items are fun to give, let’s think about the feelings we want others to have from receiving the gifts we give them.


By Br. Kevin Kriso, OFM
The readings for this First Sunday of Advent also speak to me about active waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ. Isaiah writes, “Would that you might meet us doing right.” And in the Gospel Jesus says “May he not come suddenly and find you asleep.” In other words they are warning us, “Be ready!”

This reminds me of a bumper sticker that was popular years ago. It said, “Jesus is coming soon. Look busy!” For those of us who sometimes slack off in our spiritual lives and practices, it was a funny way for us to get back on track and “get with it!” It is nice to think we will be caught in the act of “doing good” when the day of the Lord arrives. However, with my luck I will be caught reading some silly book and eating potato chips and bacon horseradish dip. But wouldn’t being in a state of “red alert” at all times be exhausting? I mean, we do need to sleep every once in a while.

What is the answer? I think a good metaphor would be that of a good host or hostess. All of us have seen people who seem to effortlessly provide wonderful hospitality. They are always prepared for whatever might happen. This person does not seem to get stressed out that things may or may not turn out right. He or she does not get self-conscious. They focus not on themselves but on meeting the needs of others and genuinely enjoy seeing other people having a good time. They don’t get tired out by their efforts. And if anyone compliments them on their actions, they honestly don’t see that they are doing anything special. For them being hospitable is not the exception in how they live their lives, but the norm.

As Chris described his mom and her quiet witness, I can’t help but think she is one of those people who “gets it.” Going shopping for a poor family is not exhausting for her but fun. She probably can picture in her mind’s eye small children really getting the feeling that they “count” and are loved. Others around her can’t help but catch the spirit. They want to be part of it too. Who knows, maybe on the day of the Lord’s coming Chris’ mom will actually get caught in a department store filling a shopping cart with clothing and toys. And Jesus will smile.

Advent is in its own way a hospitality course. It has many lessons for us. Be ready. Do right. Be prepared. Have fun enjoying others enjoying themselves. Be glad that God used you as a tool to make good things happen for others. Advent also reminds me of a quote from the George Michael song “Praying for Time” in which he chastises those for whom “charity is a coat you wear twice a year.” When charity is a way of life, it is not tiring. It is uplifting. That is why the happiest and holiest people are not those who think less of themselves, but those who think of themselves less.

(Post a comment below to share your thoughts.)

(Mt. Irenaeus Web Site)

Feast of St. Francis

Fr. Dan Riley, OFM, and Mike Fenn offer their thoughts about the Feast of St. Francis. Please share your thoughts and reflections.

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Matthew 11: 25-30

At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”

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By Dan Riley, OFM

Reflecting with Mike Fenn I think of how so many of us might consider ourselves clever and well educated. Francis did not see himself that way, but he certainly understood himself as a “child of God.”

Occasionally we might hear someone speak of hoping for or espousing “a new world order,” “a new consciousness.” We roll our eyes, don’t we sometimes not in wonderment, but I would suggest in judgment. Ironically … tragically, the judgment is actually on ourselves.

Jesus, the Christ, is the new consciousness and he has ushered in a whole new world order … truly a wonderment to behold. It is only as a child, “child like,” that we are able to see that we wonder more than worry and behold rather than shut down or close out this most amazing “new.” With all that is going on and the pain within our families and our country, this promise is at our door, invites us to open up the eyes of our hearts.

As Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father.” He also instructs us to say, “OUR FATHER!” All of us are children and we have a new life for us to live as we choose not to roll our eyes, but open our eyes to this new order, this new reign, this Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Even as we might be gripped by a sense of powerlessness or with tragedy in the midst of ourselves, a new hope wants to blossom, a hope only a child could see, a hope we are invited to see as children of the same God. A whole new order wants to break out on the place and the feeling of powerlessness. It is the power of God’s reign which only comes to children, to the child like. I dare say that it is the “plenty” that we only sense when we feel empty. It is the hopelessness that carves at our hearts at times that opens us space for the light to break in.

The reflection of Mike recalls for us now, as brothers and sisters, the risk of believing that there is One who calls us from our labor and our burdens to find rest, the arms of a loving God and in a family of faith. Especially when we feel we carry the burden of the world, Christ asks us “to take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” The One who is “meek and humble” is also the One who empowers us in the conversion of our hearts and the change in our world.

Let us risk, then, seeing as children on this Feast of our little brother Francis and work for it as grown-ups, brother and sisters, who share this re-newed consciousness. Let us step up and step out risking, as a child, to believe that Jesus means each of us when he says, “Come to me … my yoke is easy … my burden light.”

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By Mike Fenn

As I reflected over this reading and what is going on in the world today, I thought about the uncertainty our country faces, and the anxiety that coincides with this. Seemingly the past two national elections couldn’t have been more divisive, yet once again we face polarizing alternatives, with partisans on either side perceiving doom and gloom if their choice doesn’t get elected. In the personal finance sector, there’s been a jolt to the fundamental structure of our economy that my generation has never experienced before. In times like these, I find it impossible not to think about the worst case scenarios, and how I will support my family if those circumstances arise.

It is easy to withdraw and want to insulate ourselves from the risk of the world, taking care of only those we care for the most, while we try to make sense of all this from “the wise and the learned” on Fox News, or CNBC.

Opportunities such as these shared reflections help me break away from this cocooning instinct, and to ask how Francis would behave in such times. We know the world Francis lived in was a time of turmoil as well. The middle class was slowly forming, with the world predominantly made up from the wealthy and the poor.

Yet while Francis chose to turn away from a life of riches, he did not focus on two classes of haves and have-nots, or party affiliations of Democrats and Republicans. Francis followed the words of Christ that taught we all called to be brothers and sisters with one another and nothing more.

If our political and business leaders behaved in this manner, I wonder how much worse off we would be?

In these times of volatility and confusion I find great joy from a God Who implores me that revelation comes from behaving like a child, and great solace from my troubles when Jesus reminds me that “All who labor or are burdened, I will give you rest.”

(Post a comment below to share your thoughts.)

(Mt. Irenaeus Web Site)

Feast of St. Irenaeus

Paul Kline and Fr. Dan Riley, OFM, offer us the gift of their reflections for the Feast of St. Irenaeus.

 

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By Paul Kline



I felt just a little anxiety when I was asked to offer a reflection marking the memorial of St. Irenaeus. Truthfully, I know very little about the life and good works of Irenaeus. I thought I might carry out some quick research in order to sound smarter and, perhaps, fool everyone! In the end, however, I decided to put my anxiety aside and wait and listen for where the invitation might lead me.





As a boy, I remember that I loved reading books written for children about the lives of the saints. They seemed very much like the people in my family and in my neighborhood. To me, they were men and women who could be funny, angry, and even silly. They were sometimes smart, sometimes foolish, and often seemed dedicated to shooting themselves in the foot! Many did not seem to be looking for sainthood. They argued with God even as they longed for wisdom and grace.





The stories of their lives were told in such a way that I felt that sainthood was not so far out of reach. It seemed to me that a common feature of their stories was the experience of a moment in their lives – a turning point - when their eyes and hearts were opened and they experienced an overpowering awareness of the miracle they were truly meant to be.





Over the years I have sometimes lost contact with the power and beauty of this lesson from childhood. We are all called to sainthood and to discovering and re-discovering our true self. Grace waits for us in the great and small moments of our lives; each moment offering a window into the miracle of whom we are in the eyes of a loving and merciful God.





Thomas Merton writes:

“The eyes of the saint make all beauty holy and the hands of the saint consecrate everything they touch to the glory of God…the saint is never offended by anything and judges no man’s sin … (the saint)…knows the mercy of God… (and)… brings that mercy to all….”

And so, on the feast of St. Irenaeus, I pray that I might always see, touch, and hold family and friends with the tenderness and love that respects and reveals their holiness. I pray that I may know God’s mercy ever more deeply and be generous in sharing the grace of forgiveness with others. 

 



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By Dan Riley, OFM

The tender, homey truthfulness of Paul's reflection invites me to say more about this early Christian saint, Irenaeus, Bishop and martyr. Irenaeus’ faith grew about a generation after the evangelist St. John and his Gospel of light and peace. The unity, beauty and community unfolding from God through Christ to all creation is amazingly illuminated by Irenaeus in his writings. The harmony he longed for and believed in, we long for and work for today.



Irenaeus defended the Christian faith. As well he is often quoted as saying, “The glory of God is a human person fully alive.” He opened reflections on God's goodness and love, seeing each of us “in Christ” in whom all creation and everyone began and comes to their final beauty and fullness of life.



We chose St. Irenaeus as a patron for our Franciscan Mountain Retreat because of the holy, gentle friar, Fr. Irenaeus, a long time friend of Thomas Merton's and the beloved St. Bonaventure University librarian.



Though many of us have come to say and think of "Old and New Testaments" and sacred scripture, Irenaeus saw and taught a flow of history formed by God as an unfolding covenant over and over again with human kind and all creation. From the prophets to the "Good News" to carrying "News" out to the world there is an out flowing and unfolding God ever creating and holding us ... holding us to love one another.



Let me only add now a little more - from St. Irenaeus - as a close to our sharing here and opening to your own reflection.



In our House of Peace at Mt. Irenaeus, on the wall of our entrance over jackets and sweaters, sneakers and flip flops, we have these lovely words of St. Irenaeus framed. As you reflect on them, my prayer is that all of us may be touched, as Paul Kline prays, “we are all called to sainthood and to discovery and rediscovery of our true self." We are called to be like "soft clay" in the loving hands of our God who holds and shapes us all.

"It is not you that shapes God, it is God that shapes you. If then you

are the work of God, await the hand of the artist who does all things in

due season. Offer God your heart, soft and tractable and keep the form

in which the artist has fashioned you. Let your clay be moist, lest you

grow hard and lose the imprint of God's own fingers!"



- St. Irenaeus of Lyon

(Post a comment below to share your thoughts.)



(Mt. Irenaeus Web Site)