Soul Sister Time

                Christ’s coming to earth, taking on human flesh and living among us, leads a soul to feel its worth.  Weary souls rejoice because Christ was born to be our friend through our trials.  Souls are thrilled with hope because the sin and error can be redeemed.  This is the message in the lyrics of O Holy Night.  They proclaim the spiritual transformation of Advent on the soul.                  Are the burdens of life the reason for your soul’s anguish?  Does your soul demand to be loved, honored and cherished, yet receive so much less than what it was created to enjoy? My soul demands to be accepted, yet it receives condemnation, loved yet it is despised, valued though it is detested.  In the fallen world in which I live, I receive contempt from the most unlikely of relationships.  M...

On the first day of Advent I awoke to a call at 3:20 am that I should come to the hospital because my daughter was being taken down to deliver Lila—my first grandchild!  I had been first alerted to her early arrival two days before when Rachel's water broke, but not much labor. I arrived in Birmingham seven and a half hours later (it would have been sooner but there wasn’t a direct flight!). And then...we waited. We waited on Lila’s lungs to respond to a couple of steroid shots (she was three weeks early). As we waited, we halfway watched football and occasionally made small talk about subjects other than Lila’s birth; but mainly we carried on just wishing, wondering and thinking we could plan for the time that Lila would arrive based on the medical advice we were given.  All we could think about was what we were waiting for, our baby girl to come into the world. While waiting on Lila, a code blue was called to her room; then the number was changed to the room next door....

            The virtue of patience can only be experienced in the period of waiting.  How will you ever become patient if you are never given the opportunity to wait?             Our Lord is the giver of holy patience.  Patience is not a gift that we beg God to give us.  Most of our prayers are about ending the period of waiting we are currently living.  Only the Giver of Life values the gift of patience, and He does not wait for us to ask to receive.              Advent is a season of exploring the virtue of patience.  It is a brief exercise in recognizing the holy goodness of the wait.  In Advent we are forced to wait four Sundays before we arrive at the joy of Christmas.  The gift of Advent is that when we allow our souls to sink deeply into the joy of waiting, Christmas beco...

In the best of times Christmas warms our hearts with love.  In the midst of the hustle and haggling of the season, even the news is peppered with nostalgic tales of loving-kindness expressed to strangers at Christmas.  Hearts seem to grow warmer, not wanting anyone to miss out on the joy of feeling important during the Christmas season.                  Mother Teresa said the greatest poverty in the world is the lack of love.  Our world certainly can use all the love we have to give.  As we move into the second week of Advent, the focus is on love.  It is the Bethlehem candle.  Bethlehem cradled the Love sent to the entire world.  Mary is a perfect example of human love.  Her example calls us to the greatest love human hearts can hold.  It is love of God.  Mary demonstrated her love for God so fully in her response to the angel’s bizarre assignment th...

            Love is evidence of being created in the image of God.   It is the remnant of our divine origins.   God’s love is the miracle that created Christmas.   It was God’s amazing love for us that prompted Him to send His only Son to us as a babe whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.   It’s the warmth of that love that we encounter during the season.   In the midst of the black Friday brawls, there are amazing stories of strangers showing extraordinary love because God first loved us.   Every time you encounter extraordinary love this Christmas, you encounter the holiness of the holiday.             When we light the candle of love, it is can be referred to as the Mary Candle.   Mary’s love for God motivated her to say Yes to the life-changing encounter with an angel and become the home for Jesus.   Her love for God transform...

            It’s Christmas Eve.   The last week of Advent this year will last only two days.   All four candles of the Advent Wreath burn brightly as the days before Christmas draw near.   The Feast of the Nativity is celebrated on December 25 when the Christ candle (white center candle) is lit for just one day.             Peace is definitely what this earth needs most this Christmas.   Americans have been crushed by the horrific tragedy that occurred in an elementary school this 2012 Advent season.   On everyone’s hearts and minds we wonder, How will the loved ones of innocent children and teachers cope this Christmas?   At the Newton, Connecticut, memorial , President Obama spoke these words of truth: We know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness so often unable to discern God’s heavenly plans.   There is...

            Who came up with the idea to add pink to Advent purple that already clashes with Christmas red and green?   You can search for yourself on the internet and realize that there are many views on the origins, but it is somehow related to the Catholic church and a Pope receiving a pink rose from a parishioner that gave him great joy—the focus of the third Sunday in Advent.   Whatever the reason, I prefer it when Advent Candles come with a pink one.   This year I had to search high and low for a pink tapered candle, and the one I ended up with is much shorter and wider than my slender purple ones.               I do like what the pink candle represents to me though.   It is the joy of this season.   As I told you not all churches treat Advent as they do Lent and focus on repentance.   Even if you are fasting and repenting in prepa...

            It is heartwarming to see the overwhelming demonstration of love that brews during the Christmas season.   News reporters focus on stories of the kindness of strangers and communities pulling together to make sure that no one goes without a Christmas gift in between the never ending accounts of crimes and catastrophes.             It’s deemed newsworthy that soldiers are reunited with their families on Christmas Eve.   Food banks and homeless shelters are flooded with volunteers.   Otherwise unconcerned citizens make efforts to smile and greet one another.   Love fills the atmosphere at Christmas and brings joy to the season.             The radical love that produced Christmas is bittersweet.   Christmas began because of the separation of Jesus Christ from His Father as He came...