Heartbeats
30/11/2021
First Week of Advent
Heart to Heart, Vol. 6, No. 9 - First Week of Advent 2021
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1st Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
The readings for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time and the First Sunday of Advent have always been a conundrum for me! The Sprit leading me to choose this year’s readings for this reflection has led me to listen more closely and ponder more deeply just WHY these readings are placed at this beginning of a new liturgical year.
Apocalyptic...catastrophic...cataclysmic...all apt descriptions of my/our experiences of life, especially 2020/2021. We can all recall events in our personal lives and in the life of our fragile world that fit these descriptions. Without listing all - just pause to think for a moment about your personal and world events.
Certainly, the Scriptures for this First Sunday of Advent/New Liturgical Year remind us that those dreadful words above (apocalyptic/catastrophic/cataclysmic) say it all! A bumper sticker of many years ago simply reminds us: Life Happens...
The readings also remind us that while life is happening, we must not forget that God is and has always been with/in/all around us to help with whatever.
Though not in this passage from Luke, it seems significant that today’s Gospel reading is cushioned between two stories filled with meaning for us: the Widow’s Mite speaks so beautifully of faith and trust, while the Budding Fig Tree is a call to hope. So, as we go forward into this new Church Year and all the yet unknown happenings of life, let us do so with faith, trust and vigilance for the coming of God each day. And let us be persons of HOPE: those who in the midst of the good and/or the bad events Hold Only Positive Energy.
- Mary Jacqueline Pratt, OSU
St. Louis, MO
We are most grateful to The Heart to Heart Team for sending the reflection for the Advent
and to Sr. Mary Jacqueline Pratt, an Ursuline Sister from St. Louis, MO, for sharing this reflection with us.
First Week of Advent 2021