Walking in Faith: Weekly Message for 11-13-2018

Dear Digital Pilgrims, pax Christi:

When I was a kid, my dad encouraged me to write poetry.  More than once, he pulled me aside for a heart-to-heart talk as Thanksgiving drew near.  He would invite me to write an original poem that I could recite at the end of our extended-family Thanksgiving meal.  And that would keep me occupied as the lovely and truly inspired holiday approached. He knew I always liked to write (and to read), and I am sure he wanted to encourage that penchant.  

But since we were a thoroughly secular family and never went to any church services at all, I highly doubt he imagined I would spend much of my adult life at a keyboard for Christ, writing about the wonders of God’s goodness and seeking to share the Lord’s wisdom through things like Retreat Guides, Emails from Uncle Eddy, Regnum Christi Essays, and books of meditations.

And isn’t that how it goes?  We see so little of the whole story of our lives, or of the lives of those around us.  All we can do is inch along, day by day, humbly seeking to hear and heed the Lord’s voice in our lives even when that voice seems terribly dim, trusting that he knows best and that following him will ultimately give our lives the fullness and meaning we yearn for.  We are limited; we don’t know all the repercussions of our day-to-day choices. But God is unlimited, and in the sure hands of his Providence every gift we give him will somehow make an everlasting impact.

Thoughts like these permeate my own prayer life this time of year, when the changing climate here in the northern hemisphere so beautifully mirrors the rhythm of the liturgical season.  The liturgy turns our attention towards the last things, the end of history, the second coming of Christ our Eternal King, even while nature sheds its summer ebullience and reveals how fragile and passing all earthly things really are.

Yet always on the horizon is the hope of a new beginning.  As this liturgical year draws to a close, a new Advent is already being prepared.  And I am looking forward to accompanying you in a special way this Advent – actually, in two special ways.  First, we will be offering “Daily Advent Thoughts with RCSpirituality” [Sign up here]. These short but juicy quotations from our past Advent and Christmas Retreat Guides, accompanied by an image and stimulating question for reflection, can be used to jump start a meditation, to spend a few minutes in prayer, or even simply to refocus your day on Christ in the midst of Advent’s hustle and bustle.

And second, those of you who are able to support us in our annual Advent campaign designed to help keep our digital doors open throughout the entire year will receive our brand new devotional “The Eight Stations of Advent”.  This is a new devotion, based on the familiar Stations of the Cross devotion that many of us use during Lent.  I wrote this devotion a few years ago, and I am excited to share it with you now so it can bring your spiritual experience of the Advent and Christmas seasons to another level.

None of my old Thanksgiving poems will be included in either of those Advent offerings, but the spirit of affection and love with which my dad tasked me with writing them certainly will be.  It is an honor and a privilege to accompany you, even digitally, throughout each year of grace. Thank you for letting us serve you on your pilgrimage of faith through all we do here at RCSpirituality.org.

God bless you and keep you!  

In Him, Fr John