Thursday, December 7, 2017

Advent Reflection for December 7

Isaiah 26:1-6

In the middle of today’s first reading we read, “Trust in the Lord forever!”  The word “trust” always reminds me of the many times that I had to endure “trust walks” during school retreats, or playing in the school playground and falling backward, believing that someone would be there to catch me before I hit the ground.  No matter how many times I did this type of activity, it never truly helped me understand what trust was all about!

Recently, I read that T.R.U.S.T. means:  Totally Relying Upon the Savior’s Teaching.  Advent is  about revisiting the stories of individuals who lived their faith by practicing trust.  They call to us across time to deepen our trust in a God whose mercy endures forever, who protects those who listen to His words and acts on them.

As Sisters of Christian Charity, our example of lived faith practicing trust is Blessed Pauline.  We read in the First Draft toward the Constitutions, “[The Sisters] must confidently abandon all their cares to God; they must place all their trust in Divine Providence and surrender themselves completely to it like an infant in the arms of a loving mother.  They can and must have the confidence that . . . God will take them under His protection and grant whatever they need for soul and body” (54).

She is a model of how trust should be: “Trust more in Divine Providence than in human support. . . . Put your trust in the Lord especially in times of trouble.”

As you put out all the decorations, remember that the Infant, His parents and the varied visitors to the manger are examples to us of those who acted in faith and deepened their trust in the Lord!

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