An Advent Reflection
photo by Cathal Mac an Bheatha on Unsplash.com
In the end, when all other human gifts have met their inevitable limitation, it is the recollected one, the bold virgin, with a heart in love with God, who makes the sanctuary of her life, who delivers Christ, who delivers us”. ~Loretta Ross — Gotta
Love is the messiah within each one of us who will save us if we make room. I don’t want to crowd out Christ, because I am distracted by worldly concerns and mesmerized by my own pain. Rather, I want to engage my three information processing centers — — mind, heart, body — — in the conscious act of release so that devotional presence and awe may arise. Narratives of my suffering so easily fill my mind. Emotions of heartache are ever present. My body, achy and tired, demands my attention. This state of affairs is the tribulation of the human condition.
But when we consider the concept of birth, we recognize that it describes the manifestation of that which was hidden and lying in potential. It is not the realization of something arising from nothing, but rather the expression of a seed in the process of becoming. The form changes, but never ceases to exist. It simply appears in one manner, then another for all eternity.
And so it is with Love, the birth of whom we celebrate at this time of year. We can never be separated from Love, because Love lives within each one of us as a divine spark of potential. “Christ is all and is in all,” mystic Paul proclaimed!
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 8:38–39
This season brings to our conscious awareness the choice that we all face in each moment:
Will I choose to birth Love?
Or will I choose to forward my own agenda of persona promotion and defense?
Birthing Love bears the fruit of peace and equanimity. Persona promotion and defense create internal and external strife. Yet, our human psyches seem to think otherwise.
So let us rest on the proclamation of Elizabeth,
“Blessed is [the one] who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to [them] by the Lord.”
What, then, is the word spoken, if sometimes only a whisper, in your own heart? It is Love, always Love. Trust in the fulfillment of Love in your life — not in the manipulation of outward conditions from painful to pleasant, but through the inner serenity of a benevolent heart. Surrender to Love’s birth in the spaciousness of a willing womb. This receptivity manifests when we make room for, practice mindful awareness of, and offer hospitality to the gift of Love right now in this holy moment. Then, like Mary, we may proclaim,
“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name.”
Dear friend,
May your mind be peaceful and calm, may your body be relaxed and comfortable, and may your heart be filled with love.
Thank you for reading.
Blessings and gratitude, Ani