Category Archives: Advent

#ADVENT – LIGHT GROOVES

“My faith is brightest in the midst of impenetrable darkness.” Mahatma Gandhi Advent is about Light in the darkness. There’s a famous proverb that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.  As we see the … Continue reading

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Christmas (all year ’round) Love

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill On this 19th day of Advent Virginia is contemplating her Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments. As blogged previously (click here: Happily Ever After … Continue reading

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#ADVENT : Fragrant Courage

On this 18th day of Advent Virginia is contemplating the fragrance of courage, the kind that keeps pursuing the love of God even when things get thorny. “Be courageous, my daughter. There are both spiritual and bodily rose bushes. In … Continue reading

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#ADVENT: Altered (“Altar’d”) States

Last Monday my brother and I picked up his (fixed & healthy) car in Beckley, WV. (re: Life is a Gift post.) Due to weekend commitments we zoomed there and back again in one day through torrential rains and dense … Continue reading

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#ADVENT : Open Doors, Open Hearts

On this 16th day of Advent (with Christmas less than 10 days away) we may be scrambling to squeeze in more than a tick or two in our prayer closets. But Advent is a time to open the doors of … Continue reading

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Gaudete Sunday: Rejoice! Rejoice!

On Gaudete Sunday of Advent we are called to ‘Rejoice!’ as we continue waiting for Christmas. All during the holidays we sing carols about joy, we look for joy, we try to be joyful. Sometimes we confuse joy with merrymaking … Continue reading

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#ADVENT – Dark Nights (of the Soul)

Today we remember Saint John of the Cross (1541-1591), a Spanish saint known for documenting his “Dark Night of the Soul.” Misunderstood, mistreated, and maligned – John of the Cross came to know the dark intimately while imprisoned for his … Continue reading

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#ADVENT – Love and Cheer

On this 13th day of Advent Virginia is contemplating love and cheer… “Christmas will always be, as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.” Dr. Seuss (from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”) We must do our … Continue reading

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#ADVENT – Roses & Persevering Faith

Today (12 December) is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (click here for more details in last year’s post.) When a cantankerous bishop asked peasant Juan Diego for a sign, Our Lady of Guadalupe provided out-of-season roses in December. … Continue reading

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#ADVENT – Patience, Patience, Patience!

On this 11th day of Advent, Virginia is contemplating patience as a discipline (not an easy thing for impatient redheads…) “Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the … Continue reading

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