Your light will come, Jerusalem;

The Lord will shine on you in radiant beauty.

(Responsory Christian Prayer)

We are during Advent waiting in silent and joyful expectation for the Light to be revealed within ourselves. Although we wait, the Light is already here present and will be always. Nature during this sacred time brings us signs of the presence of the Light dawning in our hearts. As we gaze out our windows upon the white, glistening snow newly fallen, we are reminded of the purity of Christ and the beauty of Mary our Blessed Mother. The chilly winter air that blows speaks to us of the comfort the Holy Spirit gives us especially in times of affliction or family problems which will undoubtedly make themselves known during the hectic holiday season. The frozen ground below us is redolent of those who are separated from God through unbelief and we must pray for daily so their hearts may melt with Gods love and grace. The tree branches encased in glittering ice help us recall how our lives must be encased in holiness and as we long for Spring and a warmer climate, our thoughts embrace the Resurrection and a God who rose from the dead to start His Church. A God who rose from the dead to increase our faith. A God for which literally nothing is impossible.

True light, shining on mankind, come and dispel our darkness. And He does every day. Look out your window, behold the ice, the bright, white snow, feel the chilly wind and let your eyes be riveted to the evergreen branches embraced by frost- all these are signs of His presence shared with us by nature and by the God who created all things.

Gods love and mercy are so great and His imagination so vast, so eternal- it is possible to meet Him in the every day, in the mundane, if we are open.

-Jackie ONeal