the birth of Hope

"Advent longs for Christmas, and Christmas is superficial without Advent." - Father Richard Veras

With each passing year it becomes more and more clear that this tragedy planned during Advent was no coincidence. That this season of bright lights, and expectation; of patient waiting for the birth of something better; it is just about the only thing that makes sense on a day where nothing made sense at all.

Our church was packed that night. We had to open the windows so that the crowds across the street might be able to hear a voice; so that they could possibly catch a glimpse. The Priest had to walk through the masses of people with the Eucharist held high above his head, and chances are, more than half of these people had never received the Eucharist before. And chances are, that didn't really matter. It was a force and a pull and a longing greater than we had ever known, to come together, to be in His presence, to seek out the light.

I don't like the winter. It is cold and it is bare and it is dark. And yet, I long for it. It reminds me that this darkness will not last. It prepares me for the birth of hope.