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Stop and smell the roses!

Stop and smell the roses! On Saturday February 13, 2016, I began my morning in prayer as I usually do. First, the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office). I downloaded the Divine Office “app” to my phone so instead of reading it, I use it as a meditation. I plug my headphones in and close my eyes to listen as the prayers are read. As I listened, Exodus 3:1-20 was read. Verses 1-3 spoke to me: Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father in law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire, flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight and see why the bush is not burned.” This last sentence made my heart skip a beat. A true “aha” moment because the remarkable sight Moses stopped to look at was God communicating with him – through that I realized that all the remarkable sights I have experienced in my life were God speaking to me. Most recently, the hummingbird feeding out of the palm of my hand (Hummingbird), the cedar waxwings gathering material for a nest, the great horned owl perched atop a tree in my front yard, the vegetables growing in my garden, the sap of sugar maples pouring into buckets hanging off their trunks – all these things and more, which I’ve had the privilege of witnessing are God speaking to me. I’ve had the privilege because as busy as I get I make time to just be and savor the beauty of God’s creation. It certainly takes practice to put things on hold knowing that they’ll still be there tomorrow, but there will ALWAYS be something to do tomorrow. Nothing is ever really finished! So why not take time today to nourish the soul?! This is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. We can learn so much from the remarkable sights God uses to speak to us. I, for one, have learned more about patience, persistence, perseverance, obedience and trust, just to name a few. Moses’ words made me realize that whatever I perceive to be remarkable I must “go over to look at” because it’s God’s way of getting my attention. It’s God’s way of telling me: “Hey you, look over here, stop and smell the roses!”

As I continued with my prayer on Saturday, I moved on to another app pray as you go (hey, if you’re going to give in to the latest technology, you might as well use it for good!) – there I listened and meditated on the Gospel of Luke 4:1-13 which talks about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. The message of Exodus couldn’t be any clearer in this Gospel. After reading the passage, the narrator of the app posed an interesting question: does it surprise you that Jesus was tempted in such a way? Couldn’t he have carried out his mission in a more spectacular way? He goes on to say: Jesus seems to believe His father wants Him to work in quieter, more hidden ways. Think of ways Jesus is working in your life – is He present there with noise and spectacle or is He working in more discreet ways, ways that may often be overlooked by the unobservant.

Two different readings with a similar message: Jesus, in his constant humility, chooses to reveal Himself to us in subtle yet powerful ways. Don’t miss out simply because you have “things to do.” Whenever you come across something that grabs your attention, that moves you heart and soul, don’t ignore it, don’t overlook it – be observant and allow God to speak to you through the remarkable, as he did with Moses. There’s a message waiting, a lesson to be learned in that “remarkable sight.” Go over to look! God bless you!

Today I want to share a little something about what I changed of my routine this Advent.

When I first got married, we were one of those couples that ran out the weekend after Thanksgiving, bought a tree and decorated our living space for Christmas. By the time Christmas actually arrived, we were already tired of looking at the tree and decorations. Although we always waited until January 6, we couldn’t wait to take everything down, put it away and get back to “normal.” As the years pass, we no longer worry about decorating right after Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact, we usually wait until the beginning of December to start decorating and we start with lights outside the house. By mid-December, we’re all done with decorating outside and in. This year, however, I really wanted to focus on “waiting” aspect of Advent – I wanted to enjoy the season of Advent, as opposed to rushing the arrival of Christmas.

Many years have passed since our first Christmas as a married couple – 20 years to be exact. I always felt inspired to follow the traditions of my faith, like having an Advent wreath or a Jesse tree – but my Christmas prep always got in the way. I always lost sight of the REAL “preparation” I was supposed to be participating in. This year I vowed to not let that happen. I vowed that I was going to research the traditions, to understand the meaning behind them, so I could participate fully. So here we are, one week before Christmas – not one gift has been purchased and my Christmas tree is still at the tree farm. My focus has been waiting, anticipating and preparing my heart for Christmas in a way that really matters. My Advent wreath is displayed and used everyday and my Jesse tree is up with a new ornament added everyday after I read the scripture verse associated with it.

How is this year different as a result of these subtle changes? Today I woke up with a feeling of excitement over the coming week and what it represents. I realized that the joy and excitement come as a result of my preparation. This year Christmas didn’t creep up on me because I wasn’t distracted with the scurrying and shopping and decorating. I spent my Advent truly remembering the “reason for the season.” As I mentioned earlier, in the past I’d be ready to put everything away by now. This year I can’t wait to start putting everything up. I’m aware of the symbolic meaning behind each thing – the Christmas tree, the Advent wreath, the Jesse tree, the O Antiphons. I want to KNOW and understand why we do the things we do – as Christians, as Americans, as humans. Focusing on understanding has made this year’s “holy day” season that much more special for me.

What have I learned? what have I taken the time to understand?

Christmas tree: there are many different stories about how the tradition came about. One story says the Christmas tradition was begun as a result of the actions of St. Boniface. In an effort to do away with pagan worship in his time, he chopped down an oak tree that was used for worship by the pagans. When he did that, a fir tree sprouted from the root of the oak tree symbolizing the triumph of Christian worship over paganism.

Advent wreath: evergreen – eternity; circle – God’s unending love for us. 4 candles representing the four weeks of Advent. Each week represents a thousand years for the four thousand years from Adam and Eve to the birth of Christ. There are three purple candles and one pink. The first week we light a purple candle which represents peace, the second week another purple candle which represents hope, the third week a pink candle representing joy and the fourth week another purple representing love. Finally, on Christmas we can light a white candle in the middle, representing Jesus, the light of the world. You can click here to get even more details and prayers to use with an advent wreath.

Jesse tree – taken from Isaiah 11:1 “a shoot shall sprout from the stem of Jesse”- the tree represents the family tree of Jesus – ornaments with symbols from scripture, starting in Genesis with the story of creation and ending in the New Testament with the birth of Christ. This devotion takes us through the Bible from the beginning and ends with the placement of an ornament at the top of the tree on Christmas eve, representing Christ, our Savior. It includes the reading of a relevant scripture verse each day and the placement of one ornament on the tree a day.

O Antiphons – a tradition that is over 1000 years old. In anticipation of Christ’s coming, beginning the week before Christmas, we pray an antiphon each day which invokes the coming of Christ. The Antiphons reflect the different names associated with Jesus (O Sapientia (wisdom), O Adonai (Sacred Lord), O Radix Jesse (flower of Jesse’s stem), O Clavis David (key of David), O Oriens (radiant dawn), O Rex Gentium (king of all nations), O Emmanuel (God with us)) . One fascinating thing of this tradition is that if you take the first letter of the name used each day and read them backward from Christmas Eve they spell “ero cras” which means “I come tomorrow.” Jesus’s response, on Christmas Eve, to our week long invocation ! Today’s Antiphon is O Wisdom.

I think it’s important to remember that even though retailers want us to believe the Christmas season starts shortly after Halloween, the truth of the matter is the Christmas season does not start until Christmas Day. We all know the famous song The 12 days of Christmas, right? Well, those 12 days span from December 25 – January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany or Three King’s Day! If you’ve been caught up in all the hustle and bustle, it’s not too late to take a break to focus on the reason for the season. Let’s call on Christ to help us find our way.

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God’s mouth, You govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and teach us all the ways that lead to life! Amen. God bless you!