prepare

Opening Prayer: My God, since You are with me, and since it is Your will that I should apply my mind to these outward things, I pray that You will give me the grace to remain with You and keep company with You.  But so that my work may be better, Lord, work with me; receive my work and possess all my affections. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-5

Journal:  How are you preparing for the coming of the Christ?

Reflection: It will be up to us to prepare for the Night of the Child, to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight the paths.  It will be up to us to make a journey of sorts toward Bethlehem, to spend some time listening to the story as it weaves its way through Advent.  We are the ones who must make room in our hearts for the story to speak, who must listen carefully to its twists and its turns, listening for the places where it begins to tell us our own story.

     The season will be full of stories, of family and friends, of Christmases long ago, of memories and hopes and half-forgotten days gone by.  And in the midst of them, we must take care that we do not neglect the telling of the story.  We must be present to its telling, if we hope for it to touch our hearts.  We are the ones who must ponder in our hearts what all of this has to teach us about the Story of us all. 

     It will be up to us to leave our flocks unattended for a while.  It will fall to us to manage our time and our energy and our calendars and our schedules.  We are the ones who must make sure that there is a place and the time to be silent and thoughtful, to rest and contemplate.  We are the ones who must seek out the time to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Night of the Child. (Night of the Child by Robert Benson)

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord God, our Heavenly Father, during this season of Advent help us to prepare our hearts for your coming.  Come, Lord Jesus!  Come and visit your people.  We eagerly await your coming.  Come, Lord Jesus!  Amen.