Advent Reflection for December 4

Isaiah 2:1-5

“Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths."

With Advent vision the prophet Isaiah sees a future time, beyond the troubles of today, when the mountain of the Lord will be raised above the hills. There, the Messiah will dwell among us.  There we will receive, with peoples who have come from many nations, instructions for justice, peace and holiness so that we may walk in his paths.

Like Micah and many prophets before and after, Isaiah calls us to join the great pilgrimage to a mountain top, our Advent journey seeking the LORD.  It could be to Mount Sinai, where in a spectacular theophany, God gave the Commandments of the Law and renewed Covenant promises. It could be to Mount Tabor of the Transfiguration where, with Elijah the prophet and Moses the Lawgiver, we will see the glory of God shining on the face of Jesus.   Or, it may be to the great City of God, the new Jerusalem.

During this observance of her 200th birthday, we might also join young Pauline von Mallinckrodt in her treks up the formidable hill of Wewelsburg on the way to church for daily Mass, asking prayerfully how to balance the time pressure and worry of family responsibilities, and forming a meaningful response to the heartbreaking needs of others. Perhaps we more readily connect with the steady determination of the superior of the Congregation and true Mother, who literally faced mountains to visit every Sister in the congregation in Europe and the Americas in her final years with us, faithful forever.

Mindful that we climb our Advent mountains in the company of others, let us pray for each other on the way.