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Spiritual Reflection
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December 05, 2009 | | | |  | Spiritual Reflection: Second Sunday of Advent
December 6, 2009
Our lives are to show forth
the glory of God.
If we take time to slow down and reflect upon the way the Church and our surrounding culture celebrate this time of the year, we can see that there is a contrast between the two as to how we prepare for Christmas. The Church calls us, during this Advent season, to set aside extra time for prayer and quiet reflection, while our secular culture bombards us with Christmas carols and glitzy light displays. These are supposed to put us in the Christmas spirit and to entice us to show our love for others through the giving of gifts.
Today's first reading opens with the words: Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever. The second reading encourages us to be confident that God, who has begun a good work in us, will see it through completion. In the Gospel, John the Baptist referred to himself as one who was sent to prepare the way of the Lord. What better way could there be for us to put on the splendor of God, to allow the good work he has begun in us to move forward, and to prepare the way of the Lord, than to truly strive to open ourselves more fully to God's light and love? We are to allow God to penetrate every fiber of our being, so that our lives, like those glimmering Christmas lights, reflect the light and love of Christ to all we meet. | | | | | |
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 Our Lady of Lourdes - In 1858, in a grotto, near Lourdes in southern France, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto. When Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify. Lourdes has become the most famous modern shrine of Our Lady. |
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