The themes of Advent are hope, peace, joy, and love.
At St Mary Magdalene’s we are offering a contemporary reflection time on Wednesday mornings (Nov 30, Dec 7, 14, 21). We will start at 8.00 am and spend about half an hour together, sharing in a short introductory reflection, time for silence and a chant to conclude. You are welcome to join us in the church or to use the resources on this page to participate in spirit.
The words of the reflections come from Fr Philip Carter’s meditations that are published on this blog under the heading of Spirit Matters.
Joy: experiencing joy and wonder
Days pass when I forget the mystery….
The mystery
that there is anything, anything at all,
let alone cosmos, joy, memory, everything,
rather than void: and that, O Lord,
Creator, Hallowed One, You still,
Hour by hour sustain it.
Denise Levertov
Self-transcendence is the movement from within to beyond ourselves. It is reaching out – towards the other, to all living things. It is the deeply felt and joyous need to be in harmony with what we ourselves are not….because it is the expression and affirmation of the deep inter-connectedness, the “hidden wholeness” we have with each other.
At the back of our brains, so to speak, there is a forgotten blaze or burst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life is to dig for this sunrise of wonder.
G.K. Chesterton
God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the sense of which is beyond all creation.
Dag Hammaskjold
…nothing (is) more needed by humanity today…than the recovery of a sense of ‘beyond-ness’ in the whole of life to revive the springs of wonder and adoration.
J.V. Taylor
Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight…
Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver speaks of being ‘killed with delight’.
Where and when have you been ‘killed with delight’?
What moves you, what takes your breath away?
As you think about these things, is it possible that wonder has ceased to be part of your life?
What would/could bring it back?
Reflect on what might need to be in place –
what dispositions do you need –
to ‘revive the springs of wonder’?
Twilight, then darkness.
Night falls and candles glow.
Gently surrounding us a new birth of joy.
Watching. Waiting.
Awakening a new birth of joy.
Twilight, then darkness.
Night falls and candles glow.
Gently surrounding us a new birth of peace.
Watching. Waiting.
Awakening a new birth of peace.
Twilight, then darkness.
Night falls and candles glow.|
Gently surrounding us a new birth of hope.
Watching. Waiting.
Awakening a new birth of hope.
Let us set out together on a journey of exploration,
an adventure of discovery.
Let us trust our Self
to find our own unique ways
to walk with God on our journey.
Let us trust our Self
to learn to dance along the path …
our own special dance in rhythm with the Spirit
of God…
Let us trust our Self
to be able to follow the Spirit with confidence…
the Spirit of Life and love…
who longs to lead each of us to abundant life
and love and happiness.
Let us trust God in the depths of our Self…
and believe that our own deep desire for God
is “only a shadow”
of God’s passionate desire for us.
Let us believe that we only need to let go…
and to be open to God
in whatever tiny ways we are able…
and that God will respond with eagerness…
illuminating our path…
and then running exuberantly to meet us
with arms flung wide
to embrace each of us
in divine and fervent love.
– By Jean Gill (from Prayers to open the year)
To rediscover Fr Philip’s blog post please visit Begin in wonder
