The Life of Virtue

This is the final reflection for our Advent retreat.  It is the culmination of everything that has come before it, just as the birth of Jesus Christ is the culmination of God’s history and work among humankind.  I do hope that these reflections have helped you during this season of waiting, watching, and preparing. This week of Advent reveals that God intends to do amazing things in the world and for individuals and for His chosen people.  However, the ways that He chooses to accomplish those things are far from usual or expected.  So, these final days of Advent offer an opportunity for us view reality from a new perspective, and to change the ways that we respond to God’s graces in our lives. In the Sunday readings, and during the next six days, one specific type of miracle stands out clearly above the rest.  Throughout the week, we hear four different stories of God placing life within the wombs of women who were not supposed to conceive.  An...

“Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. … Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates” (Jas. 5:8-9).  We hear these words in the second reading for the Third Sunday of Advent.  This Sunday is also known as Gaudete Sunday, which comes from the Latin word for joy.  We are now more than halfway through Advent, and we are joyful that Jesus, our Lord and Judge, is near.   In the first two weeks of Advent, the most important theme has been that God’s grace leads our way, and it gives us the opportunity to respond to Him.  This truth is echoed by the prophet Isaiah during this Third Week.  On Thursday, we hear, “The Lord calls you back”; and when we respond rightly to God’s first movement, we hear Him say, “with great tenderness I will take you back” (Is. 54:6-7).  God is ready and waiting to greet each of us with a tender embrace, if only we will repent and commit to a life of intimate relationship with Him and followin...

We are still on our miniature Advent retreat via these weekly reflections.  The scripture passages for the Second Week of Advent remind us that something great is about to happen.  In Sunday’s readings, we anticipate the Messiah who has been endowed with the great Spirit of God (Is. 11); and we hear John the Baptist exclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2)!  Remember last week’s readings: we are supposed to be preparing for the coming of the kingdom.  This week we are told that the moment has come.  The time is now.  We must be ready! One of the most important themes of this second week is captured by Isaiah, on Tuesday.  The prophet exclaims, “In the desert, prepare the way of the Lord! … Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…” (Is. 40)!  We learn that God wants to reveal His face to us, and He wants to make the spiritual deserts of our lives arid again.  The purpose of Advent, then, is to make our hearts...