I was thinking about the saints whom we celebrate during this 2nd week of Advent. Monday, we celebrated St Ambrose, a great theologian and Doctor of the Church who was a great preacher and writer; he also was a teacher and mentor to St Augustine, another one of our Church’s great theologians. We started the 2nd week of Advent with St Nicholas, a Bishop from Myra in Turkey, who had a great love for the poor and who is the model for Santa Claus in our world today. We have two celebrations centered upon Mary in these days, with the Immaculate Conception on December 8 and Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. And then the man who first received the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Juan Diego, had his feast day this past Wednesday. In the midst of all these wonderful saints we celebrate this week, the psalmist declares to us today: “Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.” The saints we celebrate this week certainly have brought the light of Christ to so many of us throughout the world. Light is a great symbol for us to Advent as well. We here in Mississippi do not have the darkness that they do up north. I remember living up in Winnipeg, Canada, several hours above Grand Forks, North Dakota, where in the winter months, it was dark when I left for work and dark when I can home. The Christmas lights that decorated homes and stores and street corners were a great reminder of Christ in the midst of those dark winter months. We prepare for the light of Christ that comes into the world at Christmas time. We celebrate the light of Christ that lives in the witness and faith of the saints we celebrate in Advent as well. Let us give thanks to the Lord for those lights that shine in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment