Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Today’s Thought from Scripture: Matthew 11:18-19
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.
After the WINE New Orleans Conference this year, a group of us toured the nearby shrines and learned the story of the “Sweetheart Statue” in the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, which the Ursuline Sisters held in an open window as flames engulfed the city. While buildings on all side of them went up in flames, their little convent was spared. We heard of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, who chose to stand with the people of New Orleans when yellow fever ravaged the city – before he succumbed to the disease. While the city of New Orleans has an unmistakable “dark side” and preoccupation with the supernatural, these holy places also reminded me just how bright the light shines, when it faces such darkness.
One of the first places Mother Teresa and her Sisters brought the light of Christ was to an old abandoned Hindu temple in Kalighat, which they named Nirmal Hriday, the “Home of the Pure Heart” for the dying. When was the last time you stepped into a dark place to be that light for someone else?
Lord, you see it all.
You know what I am up against.
Give me the grace to spread your sweetness
wherever I go in the weeks ahead.
Jesus, I trust in you!
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.
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