Christmas was just weeks away. Chloe was alone and pregnant in New York. She calls the one person she knows she can count on. What was the big deal about going to the Christmas Eve service and . . . meeting his parents! Kathleen breaks up with Joe in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, Howard remembers […]
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Advent – Season of Hope Jolly old St. Nicholas, giver of gifts. What a delightful surprise to wake up to small gifts in our shoes, a tribute to Nicholas, bishop. How we wash down and sanitize great saints over the ages, turning this brave man into a “jolly old elf,” with red suit and beard […]
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Advent – Season of Hope Who speaks to me? Someone I can trust? Will the words I hear withstand the test of time? Will they lead me to salvation–or despair? Who do I hear speaking to me in my darkness, speaking words of comfort, of hope? I want so much to believe what I hear, […]
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Advent – Season of Hope “Come, Lord Jesus,” she remembered teaching her children to sing as preschoolers as she lit the Advent wreath. It had been such a struggle to maintain some semblance of order for even five minutes, much less a semblance of prayer. She wondered, had it been worth the hassle, the struggle […]
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Advent – Season of Hope They were relieved to finally sit down after the day of Christmas shopping. The church was quiet as worshipers slipped into pews. It was a quiet oasis after fighting crowds and listening to Christmas “musak” all day. The plaintive strains of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” began, the first candle […]
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Advent – Season of Hope The nurse lightly touches the elderly woman’s shoulders as silent tears stream down the pale wrinkled cheeks, flowing unceasingly. The old man sits on a park bench remembering all that he has lost: his family, his friends, his career. He sits silently, saddened with lonely memories. The young woman sits […]
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Advent – Season of Hope Their two preschoolers were sound asleep in the back as they drove home after a long day at grandma and grandpa’s. It was a welcome relief from the bickering, poking, pinching and whining that usually accompanies such trips. “Mom, he’s looking at me!” “Dad, he’s touching me!” He gazes through […]
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Advent – Season of Hope “You promised!” my children protest. How did “I’ll think about it” become a promise? How did the merest suggestion that I would consider their request take on the trappings of an oath? The answer eludes me. To them, a suggestion is as good as a promise. They believe in that […]
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Advent – Season of Hope “Soon,” a voice whispers in the night to the woman in prayer awaiting the birth of her first child. “How soon?” she responds. She hears no answer. “Soon,” the dying man hears. “But when?” he asks. No answer “Soon,” the voice says to troubled parents waiting for news […]
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In a world of hopelessness and despair, in a world filled with false hope based on fleeting promises and false gods, true hope often eludes us. Hope is more than an abstract concept concerned with some distant future. Genuine hope must be connected to everyday reality yet grounded in the confident assurance that these things […]
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