My Word for 2014 - Adoration

For the last couple of years, I have chosen a word to ponder and focus on for the new year.  As I was looking at the faces of the angels in the painting--Adoration of the Christ Child by Carl Marr--that I posted yesterday, I decided that what I was seeing in those earnest little faces was not wanting but adoration.  They were not looking for something to happen, they were adoring what was right in front of them.

Therefore, I decided that my word for 2014 is "Adoration."

I invite you to choose a word for the new year as well.  As Christine Valters Paintner would say, it is often the word that chooses you.

(I would also highly recommend following Christine's blog--
Abbey of the Arts.)

Eagerly Wanting to Adore Christ

Closeup Detail from Adoring the Christ Child by Carl Von Marr

Over Advent I thought about what it would really mean if I waited with earnest for Christ to come.  Have I become complacent?  Do I even believe it will really happen?  Have I simply given up waiting?

Now, during Christmas, I am pondering what it would feel like to experience the awe of the second coming of Christ.  Can I even wrap my mind around it?  Do I dare dream about it--expect it?  Do I dare stretch on my tiptoes to eagerly watch for it?

"Want" and "expectation" have become negative words to many who have developed the practice of mindfulness in their lives.  Is there a place for them?  How does "want" differ from "hope"?

Digital Liturgy of the Hours App for Smart Phones and Tablets

Today I noticed that the Divine Office Facebook page was still offering 25% off their Liturgy of the Hours App.

For those who are not familiar with the practice of praying the Liturgy of the Hours, Wikipedia has a helpful overview.  

Help Me to Spread Thy Fragrance, Dear Jesus

www.americancatholic.org

Waiting for the Coming of the Messiah - Waiting for the Messiah to Come Again

On this dreary day, with the rain and temperatures falling, I am finding that sometimes a little candlelight during the day time can be just as special as candlelight at night.

I am glad I can light the Advent wreath any time of the day, and I do not have to wait until the evening to light the menorah.

Come, Lord Jesus

Advent - A Season of Longing and Desire

After my post last night, I have been pondering the connection I feel with longing and desire this Advent.  When I was a child, that longing and desire was displayed through circling all my favorite things in the Sears Christmas Catalog in hopes that my parents would buy them for me for Christmas gifts.  As I grew up, I felt that kind of wanting was childish and selfish, so I tried to burry it.

This year I am not longing for a list of material things, but I still feel that sense of wanting something.  And I want to feel it even more.  I never associated this song with Advent, yet it speaks to those deep embers of desire I want to turn into a flame 'Til all that I want All I desire is You - All that I need All that I require is You - Consume me.

A Christian Menorah: The Fifth Night

Tonight is the fifth night of Chanukah and today is also the beginning of the Advent Season.  I do have an Advent wreath, but after lighting the menorah after sundown for five nights, I can see something that often gets missed with the Advent wreath tradition.  The Advent wreath can be lit anytime of the day or night, but there is something special about candlelight after dark.

As someone who is not particular fond of all of the darkness we have here in the Northern Hemisphere right now, I long for daylight.  That is probably why one of my favorite bible verse this time of year is the following:

The light shines in the darkness, 
and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5

May I long for Christ as much as I long for daylight.  Amen