Advent: the next stage of our evolution

Monday, November 28, 2016: Monday of the First Week of Advent

From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:

On that day, the branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors in Jerusalem. (Is 4:2).

Advent began yesterday, and here we are at first weekday of Advent and we hear a promise of things to come. As always, and particularly during Advent, I suggest that when you hear or read the words “Jerusalem” or “Israel,” you take to mean your own soul and the souls of the people who are in your life. And by doing that, this prophecy may have something to do with you in particular.

The prophecy continues: everyone who remains in Jerusalem will be called “holy;” the Lord is coming to wash away filth and to cleanse and to purge from impurity “with a blast of searing judgment.” And then finally, the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain. (Is 4:6)

How might all of these things apply to you, at this stage in your journey of faith, and in your evolution into what you are becoming? Always becoming, always evolving, never remaining static or stuck, for God comes to bring about change and renewal and evolution in our minds, in our hearts and in our souls.

My reading lately has caused me to think more about the concept of evolution, about our own personal growth towards some goal so marvelous that we can hardly wrap our minds around it. Check it out by considering your own life. Consider yourself, if you will, on the first Monday of Advent a year ago, or perhaps on the first Monday in Advent several years ago. How have you evolved? What new understandings have you reached about the quality and magnificence of your God? How have your relationship been transformed, or perhaps deformed? What have you lost? What have you had to give up, or give away, and how has that evolution changed you or transformed you?

And finally, what would you like to pray for this Advent? Christ comes anew and in His coming, if we be open to it, he will carry our personal evolution in His hands, and give us the graces we need to negotiate and even to transcend the next part of the road of our life.

Ask especially, that He bring healing and mercy to those parts of your life that still need strengthening, cleansing or even purging, and that He may bring to completion those gifts which He has already bestowed on you.

Finally, don’t get caught up in the trap of trying to predict the future or to imagine what it might be like. Hasn’t your life experience taught you that this is simply wasted mental effort? Simply put yourself in the hands of God: He is the author of your evolution; He is the source of your salvation. Pray, and let Him do His job.

God bless you!