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READ
LK 1:39-45
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
READ
BAR 5:1-9
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
“She was the first flower in Francis’ garden, and she shone like a radiant star.”
—Saint Bonaventure
On Sunday we begin the Advent season, leading us to the birth of Christ. As we walk this journey, we will be joined by Saint Clare, a holy woman with quite her own journey to Christ. It is one that begins with Clare’s decision to leave behind the comforts of her life, descend to the hills below Assisi, and join Saint Francis in living out his mission. For Clare, Christ was her focus and Saint Francis was her guide to him. Her path, though, was definitely her own.
Even if everything I see or hear doesn’t result in an actual gift, what a gift in itself it is to learn more about that person. As for the actual gifts, they don’t have to be big or pricey just something that lets the person know that you’re paying attention to him or her.
Recently I was standing with my kids in the checkout line at the store when my son, Alex, fixed his eyes on a woman a few lines down, dressed in traditional Muslim attire.
This month, we are entering a time of year that is very focused on food and togetherness first Thanksgiving, then Christmas. It is in that spirit that I am writing this column. But this gathering of food and friends wasn’t tied to any big holiday. No, it happened on a random Saturday night.
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