Praying and Running

On my run this morning I was nearly overwhelmed as I began to reflect on the Advent season and the coming celebration of Christmas. In these last days of Advent I cannot help that my patient waiting and quiet preparation begins to turn more and more to joy. I know what is coming, I know what we are about to celebrate. It's not presents but presence and no ordinary presence but the presence of God Himself among us, as us. Think about how truly awesome it is that the Lord, who created all things, so badly wanted to be reconciled to us that He Himself took pity on us and took on our human form and gave humanity the best gift we could hope for. A gift that was beyond all expectations, Himself, and when you realize the "us" includes "you" how can you not be bursting at the seams with true and complete joy. O come, o come Emmanuel!

Advent starts tomorrow December 2, 2012. This year I hope that I can refrain from getting so caught up in the secular aspects of the "holiday" season that I miss the opportunity to truly prepare for Christ mas and the coming of our Lord. I have been wanting to do a blog post on the season and what it means. I couldn't quite get it formed in my mind though. Thank God for Cardinal Dolan. Below is an excerpt from an article by him on Advent and below that is a link to the full article. It is not long but very good and well worth the few minutes it will take to read it. ...Jesus waits for us to open up to His grace and mercy; ...Jesus waits for us to admit that, as a matter of fact, we do need a Savior! ...Jesus waits for us to admit that He is the answer to the questions our lives of searching pose. ...Jesus waits for our ultimate return to Him, for He “has gone to prepare a place for us.” Read the whole post here . It's not long but I believe well worth it!

This Advent I have been thinking a lot about "the inn keeper". As we read in the Gospel of Luke and as most people are aware Jesus was born while Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem. At that time many people were traveling to the towns of their ancestors to comply with an order for a census. In other words, it was a very busy time. Because of this busyness of the situation and all of the extra people that had to be accommodated no one had room for the Holy Family. Instead, Jesus, our Lord and our God made in human flesh, was born in a stable amid animals and filth. I guess that people relegated Him to the stable because they could not recognize Him. I guess they could not recognize Him because they were not looking for Him but instead they were preoccupied with everything going on around them. I know that people are as familiar with that part of the story as I have always been. But I have never really considered the other peo...

Advent is a great time to refocus attention on the spiritual life and growing in the Christian faith. As a runner, I can see a similarity between running and the spiritual life. When I am running and preparing for a race, I get very focused and am methodical in my training plan. I have a goal and I work toward that goal with intensity. However, when there is no race on the schedule, my training can become lax and unfocused. That is kind of how I am seeing this advent as well, with the Christmas season being the finish line and advent the training season. It seems to me that like being well prepared for a race enables me to enjoy the race itself and reap the benefits of my training with the goal of the race being met by a new personal best time and finishing strong. In the same way, being well prepared for the Christmas season will allow me to experience more fully the joy of the season. This Advent I plan, God Willing, to focus and prepare with intensit...