MARANATHA!
Advent invites us to waiting, longing, hoping and welcoming the Light of the World during one of longest and darkest moments of our present time.
Called to be prophets and witnesses of hope, (Maite Uribe. Letter of the Year 2021, p. 2), we have dealt with this lingering global crisis that has seized our lives and changed the rhythm and daily operations of our society.
The measures that have protected us have also rendered us disconnected and invisible. These have contained us in enclosures that reoriented the balance of our relationships to the outside world, to each other and to ourselves. Homes became virtual places of work, school, worship, community and civic involvement, family and social connection, but not for those who find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide. A new marginal group most in need of help has emerged.
This year Maite Uribe invited us to hear the cries of the world with humble and gentle hearts. (Maite Uribe. Letter of the Year 2021, p. 20). It has been a time of tremendous loss of life, expansion of poverty, strained interpersonal and family relationships, cultural marginalization, mass migration, new health insecurities and job instability. Society has witnessed rising racial tensions, gender and religious intolerance, infringement of human rights and freedoms, along with all forms of violence. The human toll of suffering is immeasurable.
We are called to listen to these cries of the world and “set out…in haste” (Luke 1: 39) on a journey of encounter, of uncovering the many faces of God in those in need and share with them the bread of all that we are and have. We are called to stand with our lamenting world, country and church to sing the hopeful music that is in God’s heart. The lyrics of this song: “I am with you.” We are called to be for one another the salt of random acts of kindness, the light of an evangelizing witness and the leaven of contagious generosity.
The communities of the Teresian Association in USA-CANADA-CUBA wish to share prayer glimpses for our Advent journey on what we have heard, seen and discerned. We offer the Liturgical Readings of each Sunday as sustenance for our individual and communitarian pondering. Mary “who kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 2: 51) will show us how to embrace our here and now trusting in the always faithful God.
“Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus! Come! is the cry throughout every prayer as we move out of darkness into increasing light. May we stay awake and expectant for the New Coming of the God-already-with-us and still coming.
United to all we invoke the GOD of Promise, of Transformation, of Encounter; the God in our midst and Son of Mary to come to us and to our world.
MARANATHA! Come,do not delay!
From the TA in Canada, USA and Cuba.
We propose a weekly itinerary that will unite us on the Advent journey.
Every Sunday we offer a presentation with text and images that can be downloaded.
