BEHOLD, WHEN THE FULLNESS OF TIME HAD COME, GOD SENT HIS SON INTO THE WORLD!  

The fullness of time is NOW as Christ is ever being born anew in our hearts and our world.  In the words of Abbess Kathy:

Today (hodie) we stand in the ambience and reality of the ‘first Coming’, of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, this great gift of God’s beloved Son.  Today we celebrate this historical reality.  And this is not all: Today (hodie) we stand with open hearts of faith as we behold the ‘second Coming’, the birth of Christ personally to each one of us and to the expanded horizon of our Church and our world.  Let us never forget this: God’s incarnation is on-going and it needs each one of us, alone and together, to embody God’s life that is always coming into our lives.  

May the presence of Emmanuel, God with Us, fill our hearts with joy, give us hope for the future and help us carry the burdens of this life.

Today (hodie) we stand in the ambience and reality of the ‘first Coming’, of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, this great gift of God’s beloved Son.  Today we celebrate this historical reality.  And this is not all: Today (hodie) we stand with open hearts of faith as we behold the ‘second Coming’, the birth of Christ personally to each one of us and to the expanded horizon of our Church and our world. Let us never forget this: God’s incarnation is on-going and it needs each one of us, alone and together, to embody God’s life that is always coming into our lives. 

‘Be patient’, ‘Make your hearts firm’, ‘Do not complain about one another, so that you may not be judged’…. ‘the prophets knew of hardship and patience’…These are exhortative words from the epistle for this Third Sunday of Advent…And added to them is the theme of ‘oice’ for the coming One is even closer now, our expectant hearts begin to feel the reality of God’s promise stirring in the silent depths within and without in the created world.

At monasteries, the week before Christmas is marked by the singing of the O Antiphons at Vespers.  This tradition goes back to at least the 9th century.  By the twelfth century, the O Antiphons appeared in the popular Christmas hymn we know today as O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

"Love, genuine love, is liberated through gratitude."  

Sr. Kathy DeVico, Chapter Talk for the Feast of Christ the King, 

Every year at Thanksgiving we pause to reflect deeply on the  blessings we have received: the myriad ways God has touched us individually, communally, and as extended community to our family, friends and well-wishers.