Readings: Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-6; Matt 1:18-24

After three years of a pandemic-affected world, we are all tired. Some of us have developed better coping strategies than others but the grinding, ongoing nature of it all has taken and continues to take a toll. At such times, it is easiest to reach for the ‘anaesthetic’ or ‘analgesic’. That could take the form of social media OR binge-watching shows on multiple streaming platforms OR food OR any number of other addictions. But we each need to give ourselves space – to be, to reflect on what has been going on for me, to connect with our loved ones. Welcome to the shape of Advent 2022 – where our pre-Christmas time of personal reflection is both urgent and necessary.

So, have you given yourself time to stop and reflect? Or are you still running headlong from one commitment to the next? 

God is always present in our lives. But, like the sun, we can ‘pull down the curtains’ to try to shut God out. Conversely, we can never ‘make God present’ but we can have a consciousness, or state of mind where we are more likely to perceive God. We can engage in activities that encourage the perception of God. It is in this context that the truth of the responsorial psalm emerges: ’Let the Lord enter’. By engaging in such attitudes and behaviours we allow God to enter our lives, make us whole and holy, become our best selves – so that we might each be a small flame of truth in the world.