Meditation Two Daily Office Readings Morning: Psalms: 1, 2, 3; Isa. 1:10-20; 1 Thess. 1:1-10 Evening: Psalms: 10, 11; Luke 20:1-8
Advent is the beginning of the Church Year and the most hopeful season to those who look for the coming of Christ. Yet I sometimes wonder if the four weeks of Advent are quite long enough. After all, Israel had waited centuries for the Messiah. And when He arrived, the very idea of God made man was too much to allow, even blasphemous, for many. The chief priests and the scribes from today’s Gospel reading were unwilling to admit even the origin of John’s ministry, let alone the nature of the Christ who stood before them. Jesus did not answer their challenge, for He knew they were not ready to understand the reality that God had become Man, and yet remained God. In all fairness to them, a lifetime of preparation for the Messiah is hardly enough to understand this reality, and the Church has spent many lifetimes since trying to grasp it’s meaning. But to one faithful Jewish girl, it all made sense in a moment. And for nine months after, she was given a rare opportunity to reflect intensely on what the Incarnation meant. What did Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, ponder as she became increasingly aware of the Child growing beneath her heart? She had 16