A reflection for the Third Sunday of Advent

Hope does not exist to torment us. No, it calls us home.

On the Second Sunday of Advent, the Prophet Isaiah reminds us that the church is ordained to be Christ’s hands extended to the poor, the neglected, the excluded.

It is okay to be sad. Rather than loathe, we lament, because we know of a better land.

Jesus did not come in power. He became the Christ, the anointed one, because he surrendered what little he had into the hands of the Father.

One of Francis’ strengths is his willingness to surprise, to take the unexpected path.

We are the ones who have been left behind. We suffer a loss; our loved ones do not.

The notion that our prayers can aid the dead as well as the living has always been a part of the Christian faith.

Why might you find yourself praying to your deceased grandmother rather than to Christ? Because in your story she is another Christ, not an alternative Christ.

We all yearn for love, so it is a small wonder that sometimes we fall in love with the notion of love before we meet someone whom we can love genuinely. The same can happen in our relationship with God.