There are
so many annunciations; God makes so many overtures to us all day long, trying
to get our attention. There are so many invitations to embrace our fears, our inner
loneliness as privileged places of encounter with as much courage as the Virgin
Mary, who allowed herself to be invaded, tenderly overshadowed by Mystery, a
Mystery who loves us beyond all telling to
...believe
beyond believing,
That life
can spring from (fear and) death;
That
growth can flower from our grieving;
That we
can...turn transfixed by faith.
Let us
step quietly, perhaps even a bit forlornly, into this place of deep trust.
Photograph by Father Emmanuel. Lines from the Advent hymn Each Winter as the Year Grows Older.