Lima (Peru), Sr. Martha Elena Zapata Luján, November 27, 2022.- The time of waiting is lived in the Church with the same prayer that resounded in the primitive Christian assembly: The Marana-tha (Come Lord) or the Maran-atha (the Lord is coming).
PRAYER
Let us pray and invoke the Spirit of God so that, in this Advent, so different from the previous ones, we may learn to break with the human logic and put aside so many things that classify our existence in a certain way and that, in the end, distance it from God. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to speak in our lives, to guide and inspire us.
Matthew 24:37-44
At that time Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Son of Man comes, it will be just as it was in the time of Noah. Before the flood, people were eating and drinking and marrying, until the day Noah entered the ark; and when they least expected it, the flood came and swept them all away; so it will be when the Son of man comes: two men will be in the field, one will be taken away and one will be left; two women will be grinding, one will be taken away and one will be left. Therefore, be watchful, for you do not know on what day our Lord is coming. Understand that if the master of the house had known at what hour of the night the thief was coming, he would have stay awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
WATCH
The expectation of the Messiah and the commemoration of the preparation for this salvific event have their great importance in the days preceding Christmas. With the expectation of the Messiah, the whole Church feels immersed in the prophetic reading of the messianic oracles. It remembers our Fathers in the Faith, patristics and prophets, listens to Isaiah, remembers the small nucleus of the anawim of Yahweh who are there to wait for him: Zechariah, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Mary.
All the Advent texts remind us: that salvation is near, that humanity and the whole of creation live in a climate of Advent, awaiting the visible manifestation of the Kingdom of God, and to be awake, joyful and vigilant to walk in the light of the Lord. Let us be attentive and vigilant because we do not know when the time and moment will come.
What is the motivation and inner disposition to live this encounter with the WORD?
I look for a suitable place and I make silence, I examine the text, the characters, especially Jesus, each word, each situation and context... I keep this treasure in my heart and like Mary I will meditate this time of waiting and vigilance with her and like her.
THE WORD HEARD
I stand by. I am listening. I prepare myself interiorly for this encounter. I savor this experience of life that has been revealed to me. I let the Word of God illuminate my life and penetrate my existence. I read the texts attentively and slowly, with the heart of a disciple and an attentive ear to the voice of God. I open my heart and allow myself to be questioned by the Word.
I stop before that word, phrase or attitude that attracts my attention and before which I feel demanded, then I let my heart speak:
What do I respond to the Lord? What springs from within me? Towards whom does he invite me? The reflection can be shared with the group that makes its revision of life in front of the WORD.
In this new experience of living Advent. How can I rediscover the centrality of Christ in my life, in my personal, vocational, consecrated and family history?
MEDITATION
After the sharing the facilitator concludes with this reflection.
Let us allow the Holy Spirit to speak in our lives, to guide and inspire us.
It is not so difficult, it is a matter of learning to listen, of not making noise in our soul, of placing ourselves before God and not listening to anything else but Him, so that nothing interrupts this communication of love between God and each one of us.
Our heart must be ready to listen to God, so that this time of Advent, in which the greatest joy for man is the encounter with the Lord, does not pass away like the pages of the calendar, but is a time to remain in the heart. With a great inner openness, let us allow the Holy Spirit to speak, so that we can remove everything that prevents us from having peace in our souls, together with the child in Bethlehem.
HOW AM I GOING TO PREPARE MYSELF TO LIVE THIS PERIOD OF WAITING FOR THE LORD?
Do I have a concrete plan to live it on a personal, family or community level?
PRAYER
Thank you, Lord. Your Word leads us to love you, to know you, to give our lives for you; thank you because we can always trust in you, in your love, in your mercy and in your goodness.
We thank you, Lord, because you reveal yourself in our lives and help us to understand the greatness of your love, through your Word.
Thank you, Lord, because you will be born anew in us, your Word at this time will be the path to follow. Thank you, because it can only be reciprocated with a truly generous and loving dedication, with efforts of vigilance and conversion. We leave our lives in your hands Lord.
Yours be the Glory, the Honor and the Praise. You have given us your life, in it we want to renew ourselves, that is why we say again Marana-tha (Come Lord).
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