Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

December 15, 2016

Today’s Thought from Scripture:  Luke 7:24-27

When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John [the Baptist]: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?…

In today’s ASTC meditation, Pope Francis observes, “The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs things to buy, own, and consume” (p.47). Saint Teresa showed us that the opposite is also true: Clad in a simple sari and sandals, she and her Sisters toiled joyfully among the impoverished all over the world. Yet they were known not primarily for what they lacked, but for what they possessed: authentic joy.

At the end of our lives, we will be measured not for what we have, but who we are.

Holy Spirit,

come and fill my heart with love and compassion,

that I might be focused

not on being extravagant with those closest to me

but on true charity towards those who need it most.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!

To read the full readings for today, click here.

Advent Reflections Courtesy of:

Heidi is a wife and adoptive mother, contributing writer to WINE, and author of Advent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta and the follow-up companion, Lent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Servant, released January 2017). Heidi received a graduate degree in theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit in 2012, having converted to the Catholic faith in 1995 from the evangelical tradition. She met her husband, Craig, at the University of Michigan Ballroom Dance Club, and lives with her family (including two special-needs teenagers, a longsuffering Aussie shepherd and a snuggly Chiweenie) near South Bend, Indiana.