Of your own power...

Aquinas suggests that the angels fell because they would only accept heaven if they could get it of their own power. They did not want eternal bliss if they could only receive it as a gift from the hands of Infant in the manger.

And you, little soul? Will you accept heaven even if you cannot get there of your own power?

Hatred of sin

We hate that which offends our loved ones. Therefore it is because we love our Lord that we hate sin.

Do you hate sin or fear sin? If you fear sin, it reveals that you fear God and do not believe He is Mercy and Love.

Take this time of Advent to see our Lord in Mary's womb; how approachable He is! During this time He has twice veiled His majesty with human flesh, that of Christ and that of Mary. Come to see that sin's repulsiveness is because of the pain it causes His heart, not the pain it causes your pride.

Fall to our knees

It is in falling to our knees that we look up. It is from here that we learn hope in Him, for we can see Him as He really is: an Embryo in Mary's womb, an Infant in a manger. Only one who is humble can embrace a God who has become a child, conceived as a single cell in His Mother's womb.

Marriage, death and Advent

Many people see marriage only as a loss of your singleton life. But in marriage you do not leave your life behind, for then you would have nothing to give your spouse! Rather, marriage is a journey towards the other for life.

Likewise, death for a Christian is not leaving something, but rather going towards someOne.

Let us approach this time of Advent in the same way; prepare not by lamenting the loss of material things, but rather by rejoicing at the advent of the Birth of our Lord.