Welcome! As you set aside time each day for Advent prayer we invite you to use this approach, which works well for individuals and groups of all ages.

 Light a candle. Pause to remember the presence of God filling you with Light and Love.

 Pray this Opening Prayer:

 Radiant Creator, awaken me to your presence.
Jesus, Light of all Lights, kindle love in my heart.
Spirit of Illumination, guide my path today.

Advent Reflection for the Day

 But a very little while, and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest! Isaiah 29:17

 In today’s passage, the prophet Isaiah is predicting a huge change. When this transformation happens, “the lowly will find joy and the poor rejoice” (v. 19). We hear a similar hope in Mary’s Magnificat where she proclaims that God will raise the lowly and put down the mighty (Luke 1:51-52). Both Mary and Isaiah seem confident that “the tyrant” who is devastating lives will “be no more.” In Mary’s prayer she acknowledges she is favored by God, but she does not consider herself better than others. In fact, her song of praise extolls God’s mercy and compassion.

We can access the mindset of Mary and Isaiah today and every day. In our own world there are tyrants and political oppressors able to make nations and communities miserable. As Americans in 2021, most of us have not experienced tyranny on the scale of these Biblical writers or many who live in other regions of the world.

Still, there are other ways we experience terror. Besides certain external abusers, we experience inner tyrants who destroy the peace and prosperity of our human hearts. For me, these tyrants are inner critics with strong opinions, critiques and demands that tempt me to expect other people to see things my way– do things my way. Other inner critics are the imagined voices of others, pressuring me to see things their way– do things their way.

As we go about our busy lives this Advent, let’s toss out the inner critics to make room for Christ’s mercy and compassion so gloriously exalted in Mary’s Magnificat. Then we will have an orchard of joy in our lives– an inner and outer life where we experience God’s goodness and share goodness with others.

 ___

 Set your intention for the day. Say: Today I will search my heart for inner critics and silence them.

 Pray this Closing Prayer:

 Jesus, you are the Everlasting Light.
Help me to bring your love everywhere I go.
Fill me with Light this Advent 
that all my life will reflect you.
Shine through me so that that everyone I meet today
would feel your presence in my spirit. 
Let them look and see, not just me, but you,
Light of all Lights, Shining through me. Amen

 As you blow out the candle and the flame vanishes, remember you have divine light within you that will never go out. You take the light of Christ with you wherever you are.

 Together on the Journey,

Katie Martinez