Advent Reflection

One of my favorite Advent songs is “People Look East.” The first verse is:

People, look east. The time is near of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able, trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today: Love, the guest, is on the way.

I always think that I must try my best to “make my house fair as I am able.” On the simplest level for me this means cleaning things up so that my room and my office are beautiful in preparation for Christmas. On a deeper level, we are all called to get ready to welcome Christ into our hearts and souls.

Unfortunately, I find that sometimes, my interior spaces, like the exterior ones, are cluttered up with too much stuff that is not serving any good purpose and might block me from being fully open to welcoming the Lord.

Do you have a spiritual closet that needs cleaning out? Have you stuffed some distracting old resentments or regrets under the bed in your heart? Now is a good time to let go, spruce up, or make amends – whatever you need to do to be “as fair as able,” ready to welcome Love, the Lord, into your life again this year.

• Sister Joan Marie Stelman, senior vice president, Mission Integration