“Advent is the ‘sacrament’ of the PRESENCE of God in His world, in the mystery of Christ at work in history…it is the concrete plan of God for the salvation of men and the restoration of the whole world in Christ…the mystery can only be known by those who enter into it, who find their place in the Mystical Christ, and therefore find the mystery of Christ realized and fulfilled in themselves.” (Merton, Seasons of Celebration, as quoted in Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton)
A sacrament is defined as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. By that definition, I think we can say that Advent is indeed a sacrament. This idea made me consider the correlation between the sacrament of Eucharist and the Babe in the manger. The result was this poem Holy Table, Holy Manger*:
Come to the Table
Come to the Feeding
Come to the Holy
Come to the Feeding
Come to the Holy
Come to the Stable
Come to the Birth
Come to the One
Come to the Birth
Come to the One
Kneel at the Table
Kneel in Submission
Kneel to the Holy
Kneel in Submission
Kneel to the Holy
Kneel at the Manger
Kneel in Adoration
Kneel to the One
Kneel in Adoration
Kneel to the One
Go from the Table
Go in God’s Power
Go filled with Holy
Go in God’s Power
Go filled with Holy
Go from the Stable
Go in God’s Presence
Go filled with One
Go in God’s Presence
Go filled with One
Tell of the Table
Tell of Transformation
Tell of the Holy
Tell of Transformation
Tell of the Holy
Tell of the Manger
Tell of Incarnation
Tell of the One.
Tell of Incarnation
Tell of the One.
May your Christmas be blessed with time
at the Manger where you can meet the Holy One born of Mary as we “go forth to
meet our Savior on the same Road [Mary] by which He came to us.” (Merton, Seasons of Celebration, as quoted in Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton)
See you in 2013!
