advent

Reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Advent at St Benedict’s Monastery in Harkerville

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On the fourth Sunday of Advent, we are invited to reflect on the light of God’s love.

How often are we like Joseph, caught in a seemingly impossible situation, trying to do the right thing but struggling to figure out what that is? The Lord Himself gave Joseph a sign, coming to Joseph when he was most vulnerable, in his dreams, telling him not to be afraid of the work of the Spirit of Holiness but to act in response to what was shown to him.

Through the Spirit of Holiness, Jesus comes to be the light of God’s countenance, that we might be saved and find ourselves where we belong. Jesus comes to be our Immanuel, the sign that God is with us, the One who knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good and who shows us how to do the same.

Through the Spirit of Holiness, may we find ourselves, as Mary did, pregnant with Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, pregnant with possibility.

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Reflection for the Third Sunday in Advent at St Benedict’s Monastery in Harkerville – by Br Mpumelelo

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The rose glow of the Gaudete Candle feels like a tiny sunrise in the middle of Advent’s darkness—a reminder that joy is already breaking through. It points back to that first Christmas, when the world was waiting in the night and a newborn baby lit up the sky. At the same time, the candle’s hopeful flame whispers forward to the Second Coming, when that same light will blaze fully and every shadow will be gone.

So, dear Brothers and Sisters in CHRIST, as we watch the candle flicker, we’re caught between two moments: the humble birth in a manger and the glorious return at the end of time. The rose light tells us that the joy of that first coming is already here, and it’s the same joy that will burst forth when CHRIST comes again. Let that gentle glow shape our waiting, turning anticipation into a quiet, confident celebration.

May the warmth of this candle’s glow stay with us, guiding our steps until that blessed day when we celebrate together in everlasting joy.

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Reflection for the Second Sunday in Advent at St Benedict’s Monastery in Harkerville – by Br Josias

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Today marks the second week of Advent. As we might well know, Advent is the period of waiting and preparing for both the celebration of Jesus’s birth at Christmas, acknowledgement of his perpetual presence as encountered in the Eucharist and anticipation of his return at the Second Coming. In this second week, a candle of Peace is lit. Traditionally, the second candle is called the Bethlehem Candle, and it symbolizes peace and preparation, reflecting Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and the peace that Christ’s birth brings.1

In his Rule, St. Benedict encourages his followers to “seek peace and pursue it.” 2 Before we strive for peace, we need to accept that there is conflict in our hearts, our lives, and in our world. Dealing with that conflict will bring all the necessary peace. So let us pursue peace. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts, minds and souls in Christ Jesus.3 Amen!

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1 See https://www.mercyhome.org/blog/sunday-mass/advent-wreath/

2 RB: Prologue 17

3 Philippians 4:7

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Reflection for the First Sunday in Advent at St Benedict’s Monastery in Harkerville – by Br Aelred

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Dear Family in Christ.

We find ourselves, again, standing around the light of the first lit Advent candle.  This time, in our new monastery as we prepare to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We are reminded anew that Christmas is not just about a baby being born, but it is about God Himself, the Creator entering His creation, and this is why it changes everything.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, He took on our humanity completely, fully and truly, and united it to His Divinity, in order that we might be fully restored from our wounded, broken and separated nature. With the incarnation, God entered our darkness to fill it with light, entered our weakness to fill it with strength and hope, and entered our death to give us life. Therefore, we prepare our hearts for the salvation event of Christmas, not a holiday or just a story: the Creator stepping into His creation. So, may this time of preparation through Advent be filled with Hope.

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Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

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“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.” In what days? And who are these people?

The appointed reading for today has dumped us unceremoniously into the middle of a lengthy narrative in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel. The days, Luke tells us, are those of King Herod of Judea. Zechariah is a priest, married to Elizabeth; both are getting on in years, and they are childless, a source of deep embarrassment in that society. I should say, they have been childless, for it is clear that Elizabeth is now pregnant. Her young relative Mary is a virgin engaged to be married to Joseph, who doesn’t get a speaking part in Luke’s story. Elizabeth refers to Mary as a mother; in fact, Mary, too, is pregnant with her first child, and quite recently so. She remains a virgin, though; Luke quotes her as saying that she has no knowledge of man.

Oh, there’s another significant character in the story so far. He’s an angel named Gabriel.

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Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent by Br Mpumelelo

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Let us pray: Make us to know Your Ways, O LORD JESUS CHRIST; teach us Your Paths. Lead us in Your Truth, and teach us, for You are the GOD of our Salvation; for You we wait all day long. Amen.

Last week we were told about John the Baptist, that “he is a voice crying in the wilderness, saying: Prepare the way of the LORD, make his paths straight” — as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah — and I believe that each one of us had a question in their heart: “How do we prepare the way of the LORD? How do we make His paths straight?” Today, we see GOD answering that question through His Word clearly: to prepare the way of the LORD, and to make His paths straight, means to repent and bear fruits worthy of repentance! This is why Mark once said: “John was proclaiming the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins!” (Mark 1:4)

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Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent by Br Mpumelelo Read More »

Sermon by Br Josias for the Second Sunday of Advent

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In the Name of God the Creator, the Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen!

This week marks the second week of Advent. The period of Advent for me is a time of reflection. We look at what is and anticipate what ought to come. We reflect on the life that is and hope for something better. This second week of Advent takes us from thinking about hope to a related idea of peace, something we all need to think more about.

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Reflection for Sunday 1 December 2024 – the First Sunday of Advent – by Br Aelred

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May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

Can you imagine what a boring place this world would have been if Almighty God had created all of us the same; with the same brain, the same way of thinking, the same personalities, just everything the same? We would not have had anyone or anything to challenge us, we would not have had the ability to use our brains to interpret and choose for ourselves how to live our lives.

Today we start a new liturgical year, a time for deep reflection. You see, the past is in the past, and as Christians we don’t look back, we look forward. We take what we have learned from the past and move forward, with the light of Christ as our guide.

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Reflection for Sunday 1 December 2024 – the First Sunday of Advent – by Br Aelred Read More »

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