Prepare ye to say "Yes!"
From Anne of Green Gables by Maud Montgomery
Anne: I can't eat. I can never eat when I'm in the depths of
despair.
Marilla: Depths of despair?
Anne: Can you eat when you're that way?
Marilla: I've never been that way.
Anne: Can't you even imagine you're in the depths of
despair?
Marilla: To despair is to turn your back on God.
In the tradition of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade we
Marianists hold a bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. That
newspaper makes it hard not to enter the depths of despair. It is hard not to
wonder where God is when the daily headlines focus on war, murder, death,
crime, hatred, and stupidity.
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade
But Marianists are an Advent people. We are the antidote for
despair. We are crucibles of Hope. Advent is the time we look to the Bible more
than the newspaper to remind ourselves that God comes into our world again and
again. Advent reminds us that, with Mary as our exemplar, we are responsible
for Christ's presence in this world. Hope is ours to give and Christmas is ours
to make everyday of the year.
Prepare ye to bring Hope. Prepare ye to say "Yes!" Prepare
ye the way of the Lord.
peace and love,
aj
