Monday of the fourth week of Advent: O Emmanuel

Presence

My soul longs for Your presence, Lord. When I turn my thoughts to You, I find peace and contentment.

Scripture

Ps 130:5-7

I wait for the Lord; my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.

Reflection

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor hanged by Hitler, wrote the following in a Christmas sermon before his imprisonment: “The blessedness of waiting is lost on those who cannot wait, and the fulfilment of promise is never theirs. They want quick answers to the deepest questions of life and miss the value of those times of anxious waiting, seeking with patient uncertainties until the answers come. They lose the moment when the answers are revealed in dazzling clarity. The greatest, the deepest, the most tender experiences in all the world demand patient waiting.”

Prayer

Lord, there are three advents: your coming to the world in time at the Incarnation; your daily coming in the Eucharist; and your eventual coming at the end of time. Help me to meet you daily in the Eucharist and in prayer

Amen

Glory to you, Father, source of all being,

to you, Jesus, Word made flesh,

to you Holy Spirit, Comforter,

as it was before time began,

is now and shall be into the future.

Amen.