First Sunday of Advent

Having agreed to do the Advent prayer for the First Week of Advent, I did it on hope. Hope is a virtue that we really need in our world today, and Advent is a time of hope. "Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up" is a quote that I found in Ilia Delio's Birth of a Dancing Star, p.175. 
I just looked this up again so here is the whole quote:

"Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up; hang in there, church is what is being reborn." This is Ilia's answer when speaking to young people about faith and evolution and having them wonder where they can find these ideas in the church.

Advent is a wonderful time to increase our desire for the coming of the Lord into our world and into our hearts. Let us not get too busy with Christmas and miss this wonderful season of hope and desire.