New Liturgical Year!
New Start! New Road!
…On the Path of the Jubilee, as Pilgrims of Hope! On the Path of Prayer!
In 2022, Pope Francis spoke in St. Peter’s Square on the 1st Sunday of Advent:
“Saint John the Baptist reminds us that Advent is a Special Time to turn to God – and it is never too late to do so… let us not forget one thing: with Jesus, there is always the possibility of starting again. It is never too late.”
“Let us listen to the call of John the Baptist to return to God, and let us not let this Advent pass like the days of the Calendar, because it is a Moment of Grace, a Grace for us too, here and now.”
“Yes, there is always the possibility of starting again. Be courageous… Jesus is close to us… it is the Time of Conversion.”
“Everyone might think, ‘I have this inner situation, this problem that I am ashamed of.’ But Jesus is at your side. Start again. There is always the possibility of taking a step forward. He waits for us and never tires of us. He never gets tired.”
From the Edito by Bro Gildas Prigent – news of St Francis-Xavier District :
At all Ages of Life, life is full of fears: Fear of one’s Fellow Man, fear of one’s Neighbour, fear of the Other, fear of the Violence of the World… Fear of Not Succeeding, fear of Not Being Accepted… Fear that it is Useless to Commit Oneself. Fear that My Life… and the World, in any case, we Cannot Change them…
The Season of Advent responds to that Dark Scenario with the “Gospel of Anti-Fear”. “Because while those who are afraid remain on the ground, defeated, the Lord raises them up, with his word. He does this with the two verbs of anti-fear, the two typical verbs of Advent: Stand Up and raise Your Head (cf. Lk 21:28). If fear makes you stay on the ground, the Lord invites you to stand up; if negative things make you look down, Jesus invites you to turn your gaze to heaven, from where he would come. Because we are not Children of Fear, but Children of God; because fear is defeated by overcoming with Jesus the withdrawal into oneself: by going beyond this withdrawal.” (Pope Francis)
Happy Advent !
A Little Gift from the Spanish Mennaisian Family of Bilbao who prepared a Beautiful Video for the Mennaisian Week…. For this time of Advent, this Video is also just right!!!!
The first sentences “do we want to continue Dreaming or continue Sleeping?”!!!!
