Somehow today I ended up at the blog of a guy who lives in Florida (about as far from here as possible in the mainland U.S. I thought was interesting). Anyway, he's an oblate, something I'm learning a little more about lately. (See - http://www.osb.org/obl/intro.html for more info.)
He was writing about Advent and he said something I found to be very interesting. It was this: "In my study times, I have been learning more about Advent. The most interesting thought I came across today is that we might see our whole lives on earth as an Advent to eternal life with Christ. The passing from our darkness into his light." (If you want to check out his blog it's: www.oblatespring.blogspot.com)
That is so true. This time of Advent we are in preparing for Christmas is but a tiny piece of the greater Advent that is our lives. What an awesome thought. Let us not forget to always be mindful of the coming of Christ and how we are to live in preparation for meeting Him face to face. But not only that, but He is here with us even now. This is too much for my human brain to truly understand. I am trying to ponder all this amidst the noise of my sons playing noisily. It's difficult, but I know God is here with us. I am thankful for that.
3 comments:
You said something that struck me here...."Let us not forget to always be mindful of the coming of Christ and how we are to live in preparation for meeting Him face to face." It reminds me of something Shawn and I were talking about last night. I'll have to talk to you about it in person since I would end up leaving you a book here as a comment. ;)
I have a book called How to Be a Monastic and Not Quit Your Day Job. It's about committing oneself to a constant and intentional meditation on God's presence through a rhythmic practice of a daily prayer schedule. The book talks about oblates and how one decides to become one. I found it very interesting, even though doing so totally does not fit me.
BTW, if you are interested, check out the Anabaptist Prayer Book. It has morning and evening prayers for each day in Ordinary Time (vol. 1) and from Advent through Pentecost (vol. 2).
Also, there's a great book called Ordinary Time by Nancy Mairs. I really enjoy her work. She encourages me to think deeply. It's not about being an oblate, but is a memoir of her spiritual development.
Isn't it funny, Kim, how things in our lives start adding on to each other. Would you hav even given that blog a second look before we starting talking about it? It's funny you say all this now. I just received my Daily Prayer book for my oblate study. Just a month ago I asked my spiritual director to teach me to pray. How do I go on from where I am, how do I grow in prayer making it more and more meaningful? Then I start the process with St. Brigids. Then I get this book which I must say is almost overwhelming. God has answered my prayer. I will be learning to pray more. He gets us where he wants us to go. Pretty amazing. We're gonna have fun when you get here seeing what God has been up to in both of us.
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