Category: Prophetic voices

Waiting and hoping

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 30/12/2025

Photo by Vladimir Soares on unsplash.com

Something from the archives for the 6 day of Christmas. So many of the characters in the nativity are outsiders. This is a story that unfolds first in the lives of the marginalised, they are the ones who first recognise and proclaim the Messiah.

Today’s gospel focuses on one of those characters, the prophetess Anna. An older woman, long widowed she choses to live out her days in the Temple, praying and fasting. I can imagine that she’d have appeared at best a little unusual, as older women who defy norms so often do.

Yet, regardless of the opinions of others, she had a clear idea of what she was called to do. She was called to a life of waiting and watching for the coming of the Messiah. In doing that she was living out the call of her people who had been waiting and hoping for this through centuries when hope seemed impossible.

No one knew what the Messiah would look like, but no one, including Anna, would have expected him to appear as a vulnerable baby reliant on others for every need. Her life of faithful prayer and her life on the margins prepared her to recognise the Messiah, opening her heart to see beyond surface appearance.

Having recognised the Messiah her next step becomes clear:

“She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.”

This is not news she is to keep to herself, instead she is called to proclaim his presence to all those who had been waiting and hoping for the coming of the Messiah.

Where are you being called to proclaim Christ’s presence this Christmastide?

Tags #6DayOfChristmas, #Anna, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christmastide, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #Praise, #Prophetess, #trust, #wait, #Waiting

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy O Adonai O Antiphons Prophetic voices Scripture

O Adonai. Encountering the living God.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 18/12/2025

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Some thoughts from the archives for O Adonai. This evening at Vespers we’ll sing the second of the O antiphons, O Adonai, O Lord God.

“O Lord God, leader of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai: come to redeem us with outstretched arm.”

It takes us back to one of the passages of Scripture that touches me most deeply, Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. Moses is engaged in the most ordinary of daily activities, looking after his father-in-law’s herds. Then God breaks into his life in its ordinariness, messiness and uncertainty in a completely unexpected way.

Curiosity compels Moses to turn aside when he sees the bush aflame, and he is drawn into an encounter with God which is challenging and life changing beyond anything he could have imagined.

In the uncertain times we face yet again this antiphon has a very particular message. It tells us that the God of love who came to Moses and the burning bush can also break into the ordinariness and uncertainty of our daily lives and set us aflame. Facing hard and challenging times it’s good to remember that the God of love who reached out to Moses because of the cries suffering people also hears our cries and comes to redeem us.

As we move through Advent where do you need the redeeming touch of God in your life?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek3, #Benedictine, #burningbush, #challenge, #Christlike, #Encounter, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #Moses, #OAdonai, #OAntiphons, #Scripture, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel John the Baptist Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Saints Scripture

Gaudete Sunday

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 14/12/2025

Photo by mohamad azaam on unsplash.com

Today we’re celebrating Gaudete Sunday, a time to pause and remember that even in dark and uncertain times there is cause for joy and hope.

In these challenging and uncertain times there is plenty that would oppress us. Today’s readings remind us never to give up hope however dismal things might seem. Isaiah writes that even the dry, barren wilderness of the desert can blossom into new life.

St James calls us to be patient because the Lord we are waiting for will come, however unlikely that may appear. Neither of them deny the challenges that we face, or the costliness of hope. Instead they tell us to look for and keep alive those glimmers of hope that are buried in the midst of the challenges.

John the Baptist exemplifies that hope, sending disciples to Jesus to ask:

“Are you the one who is to come, or have we to wait for someone else?”

Even in the bleakness of his prison cell he is still seeking, still hoping, still looking for the Messiah he proclaimed with such conviction. It is the Lord’s faithfulness that enables us in our turn to strive to be faithful to God.

It is God’s faithfulness that makes it possible for us to trust, hope and keep seeking God’s presence even in the most challenging of circumstances.

What gives you the courage to keep hoping today?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek3, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christlike, #courage, #faithfulness, #GaudeteSunday, #gospel, #Hope, #JohnTheBaptist, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Saints

Light in deep darkness.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 13/12/2025

Photo by Sam Goodgame on unsplash.com

Advent is the coldest, darkest, lowest time of the year. That time when we are most aware of our fragility and vulnerability, when it can be easy to lose sight of the Lord’s radiance. It’s the season when it seems most tempting to give in to despair and hopelessness as everything around us seems dark, cold and colourless. It’s a time when we need to be reminded that the light of the Lord’s love has not disappeared from our lives.

Today we’re celebrating the feast of St Lucy. This morning we sang a hymn written by one of our sisters that captures both the darkness and the vulnerability of Advent and the hope that St Lucy points us towards. A young woman martyred for her faith, St Lucy reminds us that, however dark our world might seem, the light has not been wiped out of our lives, instead it is planted deep within us waiting for the right time to burst forth into new life. This morning we sang:

Deep in the darkness seeds of light are sown,
The joyous Light the dark has never known;
Beneath the ground the living waters sing,
And secret streams new life, new gladness bring:
Before the seas were shaped the Fountain played,
And Light shone out before the stars were made.

The words of the hymn offer us hope. They remind me that however dark life might seem there are seeds of light hidden in the darkness, waiting, germinating, preparing to put out shoots when the time is right. As we approach the shortest day, the lowest point of the year I am grateful for St Lucy’s gentle light reminding us to look towards the Lord’s radiance and directing us to new life and new hope.

What seeds of light are sown through your darkness this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek2, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #light, #LightInDarkness, #love, #Radiance, #StLucy, #trust, #Vulnerability

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture

A place to rest

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 10/12/2025

Photo by Damian McCoig on unsplash.com

Rest can be in very short supply as we try to juggle the realities of complex and challenging, lives. That’s especially true at this time of year with all its commitments, expectations and anxieties. So these words from today’s gospel really resonated with me:

“Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

It’s one of those passages I can never hear enough. With the best will the world, however much I reflect on it, I will invariably forget it again as I rush from pillar to post with my mind full of all the tasks I have to complete. So today I’m especially grateful for Psalm 102 which reinforced the gospel message:

“The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.”

Its words point me back to the gospel where Jesus offers me a different way of being, inviting me to allow him to show me his gentleness. He offers to teach me to be as gentle towards myself as he is. His offer of rest from my burdens stands regardless of whether or not the burdens I carry are trivial or essential, self-imposed or passed on by others.

It seems to me that in these challenging times we need this message of gentleness and compassion more than ever. The harder times are, the heavier our burdens the more we need a safe place to rest, a place where burdens can be acknowledged and handed over, a place where we can be held and loved.

Where are you aware of Christ offering you a safe place to rest today?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek2, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #Gentle, #gospel, #Hope, #HumbleOfHeart, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #rest, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Consolation

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 09/12/2025

Photo by Myriam Zilles on unsplash.com

There are some words in Scripture that I think we can’t hear often enough. That applies to these words from today’s first reading:

“’Console my people, console them’ says your God…”

They touch the very depths of our hearts, offering comfort and hope whatever we face. Our world projects an image of how life should look. We see it on television, in films, in magazines and on social media.

We are supposed to be living “perfect” lives, happy, balanced and with everything we could possibly need or want. We find this image beguiling and attractive, and we don’t have to look very far before we begin to realise how little it matches the reality of our lives.

Isaiah allows us acknowledge our pain, our suffering, our brokenness. That in itself is a true gift. He frees us from having to live up to a false image of how our lives should be. Isaiah reminds us that we can come into God’s presence with all the jagged edges of our brokenness. We can bring to God all the hurts we carry, and all those we have inflicted on others.

We can trust Isaiah’s promise that we will be met, not with condemnation, but with the consolation of a God who knows our weakness and our suffering. Much as we need it and desire it, it is not always easy to open our hearts to such wholehearted consolation.

What would help you find the courage to open your heart to the consolation God offers you this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek2, #Benedictine, #challenge, #consolation, #Gift, #gospel, #Grace, #Hope, #Isaiah, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #promise, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel John the Baptist Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture

A straight path.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 07/12/2025

Photo by Mads Schmidt Rasmussen on Unsplash.com

As we begin the second week of Advent the call to attentiveness becomes more urgent with the appearance of John the Baptist. John, Jesus’ cousin is an uncomfortable and challenging figure. He is the ultimate outsider, everything about him seems designed to challenge us and make us uncomfortable.

His message, with its call to repentance, is even more disconcerting than his appearance and lifestyle. It’s tempting either to sanitise him or ignore him. Instead, the gospel calls us to give him and his message our wholehearted attention.

“A voice cries in the wilderness: prepare away for the Lord, make his paths straight.”

We’re already overwhelmed with preparation in Advent. As we speed toward Christmas we’re necessarily full of plans to arrange cards and presents, food, parties, church services, liturgies and all kinds of gatherings. When we hear John’s call it can feel like there is no space left for any more preparation in the busyness of our lives.

John’s call, and the call of Advent, is about a different sort of preparation. It involves taking time to look within our hearts. It’s a time for acknowledging and accepting inner wilderness we all carry within us. John’s call to repentance is a call, not to hide that inner wilderness from Christ, but to acknowledge and welcome him into it.

From his place on the margins John calls us to bring all the marginalised parts of ourselves into Christ’s presence, exposing them to his loving, healing gaze.

How are you being called to make a straight path in your heart for Christ this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek2, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #gospel, #Hope, #JohnTheBaptist, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #Prepare, #Repent, #trust, #Wilderness

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture

Our gracious God.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 06/12/2025

Photo by Josie Weiss on unsplash.com

Life can be difficult and challenging, we all carry burdens that sometimes feel too heavy to bear. We can easily feel overwhelmed by sadness, grief, anxiety or a myriad of other painful emotions that can leave us feeling isolated and hopeless. It can feel worse as we move through Advent towards Christmas with all it’s expectations, memories, hopes and disappointments.

It can be especially hard to acknowledge these feelings when society expects us to be upbeat, positive and in control of every aspect of life. Today’s first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, offers a hopeful alternative to what can feel like a double bind. He writes:

“God will be gracious to you when God hears your cry; when God hears God will answer.”

We often think we have to be on our best behaviour in God’s presence. We bring God what we think are the “nice” parts of ourselves, and push the other parts aside. Isaiah suggests a different approach. He promises that if bring our pain and our challenges to Gods’ presence we will receive consolation and healing.

Isaiah reassures us that God will be there, waiting to listen to whatever we need to share. He tells us that God will not only hear our cry, but will respond with love. Isaiah tells us God will stay with us, healing our hurt, wiping away our tears and offering us the promise of new life.

Where is God inviting you to bring your burdens into Gods’ presence this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek1, #Benedictine, #burdens, #challenge, #consolation, #gospel, #graciousness, #Hope, #Isaiah, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #promise, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

People of Joy

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 05/12/2025

Photo by Ameer Basheer on unsplash.com

Advent calls us to be people of joy. We’re called to rejoice in the knowledge that is always with us. We can rejoice because we know that that we are surrounded by the love of God, a love that seeks to fulfil our hopes and our desires.

This beautiful and consoling thought is taken up again today by the prophet Isaiah as he describes how God will transform the lives of his people, welcoming them home to a new place of safety. He writes:

“The lowly will rejoice in the Lord even more and the poorest exult in the Holy One; for tyrants shall be no more, and scoffers vanish…and all be destroyed who are disposed to do evil…”

It’s a promise to put those most in need in the forefront, to protect them and bring them to a place where their dignity will be respected and they will be truly valued. As I look around our world it’s tempting to see this as at best a beautiful fantasy, a dream that has no place in the harsh reality of a modern life that leaves no place for dreamers.

Yet Advent is the season for dreamers. It calls us to risk dreaming. This is not an escapist fantasy. In the darkest time of the year Advent invites us to look into the darkness and dream of the light that it cannot overcome.

It encourages us to imagine the very best we can be in these dark times, so that we have a vision to work towards, something to aim for. We won’t achieve the perfection we dream of, but we can move towards it, inching towards a world that is kinder, more loving, more compassionate.

Where is Christ inviting you rejoice and dream this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek1, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #gospel, #Hope, #joy, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #rejoice, #trust, #vision

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Trusting the Lord

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 04/12/2025

Photo by Purnomo Capunk on unsplash.com

At the darkest and coldest time of year Advent offers us hope. It carries a clear message that however unlikely it might feel we will pass through this dark time into the light of new life that the Incarnation promises us.

In today’s first reading Isaiah calls the people to keep trusting, regardless of appearances, in spite of all they have lost and suffered:

“Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord is the everlasting Rock…”

He knows that it is not easy for people who have suffered and lost everything to trust, yet he carries on with his message of hope. He carries on believing that the promises God has made to the people will be fulfilled. Even in the darkest of times Isaiah’s message to the people is to wait in hope for the light to return.

As we sit in our own dark times it’s a valuable message for us too. In the gospel Jesus shows us how we can keep on trusting in such times. He tells the story of the wise person who built their house on rock to remind us that it is the rock of his word and his teaching that will sustain us whatever storms we face.

Where are you being called to trust that Christ will bring his light into the heart of your dark times?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek1, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #gospel, #Hope, #Isaiah, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #light, #LightInDarkness, #love, #newlife, #Rock