Advent

Beginning to understand a bit about Advent has changed me. Or at least it has changed my understanding of the season and my ability to focus on celebrating the birth of Christ rather than the many things competing to be celebrated instead. If there is one person I can thank for opening up the season of advent to me, it's Mary Reimer, giving a one time Advent 101 session to the MOMs group back at Fort Garry MB in Winnipeg. She encouraged us young moms to do fun and creative things to celebrate Advent with our little ones... I still treasure the little puppets we made, and memories of acting out the manger scene for dinner guests! One year, Brendan made us a candle holder with space for 24 candles - we faithfully lit one every day, (well, almost every day!) using alternating sides of the holder - a visible reminder of the anticipation and building of the season towards the single white candle in the centre, a symbol for the holiness and specialness of Jesus' birthday.
This season, for some reason I find myself poring less than usual over scriptures and seasonal songs and books, and I've been reflecting on images instead. The image below has been speaking to me for a couple of weeks now. (And I want to give proper credit for where I found it, so note that below too!) I guess its the advent display in a Catholic church in Maryland. Or at least it was during one of their advent seasons. It caught my eye immediately, because it wasn't a wreath, which is such a frequently used advent symbol. Its altogether different, yet the elements represented in a wreath aren't absent... the light is captured, the life symbolized in the greenery is still present in the poinsettias.

I might post later in the season on some of my insights as I've come back to this image over and over. I might also ask the young lady I've begun to mentor at Bethany if I can share her thoughts, for they were very insightful too. But for now, I'll leave you with the image and no commentary in the hopes that you'll find something of value here.

update after originally posting: I talked to my sister Karen, who said I should offer at least a little clarification on why this 'image' is a meaningful one. So here goes.. a little interpretation:

Advent celebrates the coming of Christ in more than one way .. in fact, perhaps three ways (just like there are three banners...); Christ came to earth as an infant, Christ comes into our lives (our families and our homes) when we invite Him, and Christ is coming again someday..in fact the very word advent communicates themes of coming, of waiting, of preparing, of anticipating. Each banner, at least to me, does an amazing job of subtlely communicating one of those 'comings'....



found at 'google images', with the following text attached:
Advent paintings with Christmas silk "chandeliers"
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Potomac, Maryland, 2000
Painting on silk, center painting 18 feet x 5 feet, side paintings 8 feet x 5 feet
Juanita Y. Kaufmann