I always think Advent is the most beautiful  for a retreat. It is a joyful and hopeful time that it lends itself to prayer and reflection. But we can so easily miss Advent in the rush to Christmas. We spend so much energy getting materially ready for Christmas, that we can neglect the spiritual. 

This year, we take St Luke's story of Jesus' coming as our framework for reflection. But in Advent we do more than celebrate an historical event, but the ongoing and future coming of Christ too. Let's prepare our hearts to receive the King!

Reflecting on St Luke's story with the help of the great artists, I hope you find this retreat helpful, beginning today with the Annunciation. 

I wish you a blessed Advent.

Fr Brendan 

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 He went in and said to her, "Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you." 29 She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, 30 but the angel said to her, "Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. 31 Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; 33 he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?" 35 "The Holy Spirit will come upon you," the angel answered, "and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. 36 Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, 37 for nothing is impossible to God." 38 I am the handmaid of the Lord," Mary said, "let what you have said be done to me." And the angel left her. 

"In the Kitchen" 

by Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26)

Giotto has it wrong.

I was not kneeling

on my satin cushion

in a ray of light

head slightly bent.

Painters always

skew the scene,

as though my life

were wrapped in silks,

in temple smells.

I had just come back

from the well, placing

the pitcher on the table

I bumped against the edge,

spilling water.

As I bent to wipe

it up, there was light

against the kitchen wall,

as though someone had opened

the door to the sun.

Rag in hand,

hair across my face,

I turned to see

who was entering

unannounced, unasked.

All I saw was light,

white against the timbers.

I heard a voice

never heard before

greeting me. I was elected,

the Lord was with me.

I would bear a son

who would reign forever.

I pushed back my hair,

stood afraid.

Someone closed the door

And I dropped the rag.

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, 

Thy grace into our hearts; 

that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, 

was made known by the message of an Angel, 

may by His Passion and Cross, 

be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

“Where joylessness reigns, where humour dies, the spirit of Jesus Christ is assuredly absent. But the reverse is also true: joy is a sign of grace. One who is cheerful from the heart … cannot be far from the God of the Gospel, whose first word on the threshold of the New Testament is ‘Rejoice’.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict), Principles of Catholic Theology.

“This is a Christian’s disease. We’re afraid of joy. It’s better to think: Yes, yes, God exists, but he is ‘out there’… Somewhat distant. We’re afraid of being close to Jesus because this gives us joy. And this is why there are so many ‘funeral’ (funereal) Christians, isn’t it? Those whose lives seem to be a perpetual funeral. They prefer sadness to joy. They move about better in the shadows, not in the light of joy, like those animals who only come out at night, not in the light of day, who can’t see anything. Like bats… there are Christian bats who prefer the shadows to the light of the presence of the Lord.” 

Pope Francis, Homily, 24th April 2014

Sometimes we want to do great things, but it is often the small things that make a difference. A smile, a friendly word, a greeting. Is there someone you have neglected whom it would be good to reach out to? Is there someone who would benefit from a good and kindly word? 

"I shall be an angel of peace" wrote St John Henry Newman. Can I be one too?