"Watches of the Night"
"Advent Interiority"
Advent offers an invitation to
contemplative intercessors to enter into the "desert of our hearts" through the
disciplines of prayer, penance, silence and solitude. On this second Sunday of
Advent, we hear of the desert in The Gospel of St. Luke:
"The word of God came to
John the son of Zechariah in the desert...A voice of
one crying out in the desert..." (Luke 3: 2,4).
Like John,
we are invited to humbly welcome God's word and allow it to raise up a
prophetic, heart cry from within us to humanity.
In the biblical tradition the
desert is the place of the birth of the true heart--a heart opened to, and
docile to, the will of God--a heart more reflective of the mature heart of
Jesus. This true heart is also a silent heart, a loving heart. Hence, the
desert is the place of conversion--the place of letting go of all else for the
sake God's word, God's will. In the desert the new birth takes place; for, "He
will[s] to give us birth by the word of truth" (James.1:18). When God's
word reaches the inner depths of the heart, it transforms the heart; for, God's
word is a word of 'searing' love and truth that bears within it an intense,
dynamic animating force: "Is not my word like fire, says the LORD" (Jr.
23:29); "A word that will rouse" (Is. 50:4). This force raises up
a "desert" heart cry from within the heart of an intercessor like "a woman in
labor" (Is. 42:14).
The desert is the place where we
remember what we really hunger and thirst for. We discover the true spiritual
hunger and thirst of our hearts for "the hidden manna" of God's word, and the
"water from the Rock", the holy Spirit. For, the desert experience
transforms one's hunger and thirst to become like the hunger and thirst of
Jesus, who is our desert! (see Dictionary of Biblical Theology,
p.123). The desert is the place where the God of holiness calls each of us by
name. Here we come to know the One who sees the inner beauty of our hearts. "In
the desert I make a way", says the Lord (Is. 43:19). It is the way of
holiness, the ongoing conversion into the image and maturity of Jesus. Here in
the desert interiority of our hearts contemplation and intercession, "the two
wings of the great eagle" (Rev. 12:14), begin to grow.
Before the desert can be the place
of mission it must be the place of communion with God--the place of encounter
and intimacy. It is the place where total trust and authentic love for God
blossom: "Her deserts he shall make like Eden" (Is. 51:3). Here
we learn to lean full weight upon God, our Lover (see Songs 8:5D). Because
the desert is the place of communion it is also the place of spiritual combat
against the enemy who seeks to separate us from the God who is love. Here the
battle for obedience is waged with the uplifted "arms and hands" of the heart.
Here one learns to hear God's promises before they are fulfilled (see Amos 3:7)
and see God act before the reality comes to pass (see Is. 52:8). Here, a faith
begins to sprout that believes in God's miracles and lives in the realm of the
seemingly impossible! Our Lady of the desert, pray for us!
Questions:
1) What
has been my experience so far of the "desert" of Advent?
2) What
scripture verses from the mass readings are engaging my heart so far during
Advent?
Scriptures:
Any scripture from the text; Is. 43: 20-21; Hos. 2:16-17; Jr.
2:2
