Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters PO Box 6026, Techny, IL 60082-6026 319 Waukegan Rd., Northfield, IL 60093 Office of Vocation Ministry Phone: 847-441-0126, ext. 704 sspsovm@aol.com www.ssps-usa.org www.worldssps.org December 2012 “The need for patience arises out of the rhythms innate within life itself and within love itself. They need to unfold, as do flowers and pregnancies, according to their own innate rhythms and within their own good time. They cannot be rushed, no matter how great our impatience or how great our discomfort. And neither can God be rushed because it is his timetable that protects us from perpetually stunting life and love by drawing them through the birth canal prematurely.” --Ron Rolheiser, OMI Not long ago I was driving and as usual I wanted to listen to the radio. Surprisingly they were already playing Christmas music…. I understand that Christmas is a commemoration of something that happened many years ago and I know that God through the Holy Spirit is present in our everyday life. However, the approaching season of Advent makes me ponder the significance of waiting. Is there any value in spending our time and energy in waiting for the unfolding of God’s mystery? In our lives the beauty of waiting gets kind of lost in the busyness and anxiousness of everyday life. We find ourselves rushing things to happen or perhaps trying to be in control of our lives and sometimes of things that are beyond our expertise. Often we do not value waiting and patience because we want to be like someone else, successful or on top of things. Then I looked at Mary who is a great example of waiting in joyful expectation for the coming of her son Jesus. She waited like every mother for the birth of her son without asking for an exception. Mary as the chosen mother of God’s Son Jesus could teach us the meaning of waiting for something to happen. The question is: are we open to learning from her the art of expectation? Let us enter this beautiful season of Advent waiting like Mary for what God has in store for us, expecting only the fulfillment of God’s will in our lives. May this beautiful season of Advent be a joyful time of stillness filled with prayer, every day more open to the surprises that await us. May it also be a time of searching for God and God’s will knowing that there is a right time for things to happen. Blessed Season of Advent! Sr. Elwira Dziuk, SSpS
Called by the Spirit, Embracing the World.