Reflection:

"Who has known the mind of God?"  The inner drive that pulls us toward the Divine Mystery forces
us to use imagery to supplement the limits of our understanding.  Contemporary science has
discovered that from the place that was no place--from the time that was no time--the cosmos flared
forth into being in a tremendous explosion of light.  What was the beginning?  We do not know and
yet we have named it--the primary potential--the originating mystery--God--whose presence flows in
and through an ongoing creation.  In our search for God, the paradox of light and darkness is a
basic symbolism.

What is this Light that we seek?

In the Advent scriptures, we read that "the people in darkness shall see a great light. "We see
Jesus as "the Light of the World," the one whose light shone in the darkness of our limited
understanding.  As Christians, we believe that the Divine Presence shone through him so fully that
he raised his followers to a new level of consciousness about God.  God was not a ruler to be
feared and appeased, but a loving parent.  God was not far away, but near and within us.  God
cared for the lowly and oppressed. God knew us intimately and even knew when a bird fell to the
ground.  God was love, and we were to love one another as children of this loving God.  We were 
to be one as Jesus and his "Abba' were one. This called us to a whole new level of relationship
based in respect, justice, and peace. 

The light shone in the darkness, but we know that, even now, the darkness--the violence,
selfishness, and evil in our world--does not comprehend it.  Yet, Advent offers hope. We believe in
the light; we believe that darkness has not overcome it.  We know that in our hearts and the hearts
of many, the message of light still speaks.  We know that the light still calls us and we believe that
we can respond.  We live in hope.  We pray, "Lord, that I may see."

"For God, who said 'Light shall shine out of darkness,'  is the one who has shone in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."  Cor 4:6

What was the focus of my prayer?
How do I feel?
What are the implications of these in my life?
What questions do these raise for me?

Keeping an informal journal of your thoughts may be helpful as the retreat progresses.

"I am the Light of the World.  They that follow me shall not walk in darkness."
                                                                                                                                                        John 8:12

" We fear that we are inadequate, but our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light
not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves: "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
fabulous?"  Actually, who are you not to be these things?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small doesn't
serve the world.  There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people around you won't feel
insecure.  We are all meant to shine as children do.  We are born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.  And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically releases others."
                                                                                                                                    A Return to Love , Marrianne Williamson

You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under 
a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your
light shine before all, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
                                                                                                                                                                     Matthew 5:14-16

Tuesday:

           The darkness has not overcome it.

 “It is necessary for us, as humans, to embrace the chaos, darkness, and the shadow side if we are to find 
 new life. But it is equally necessary for us to continue the effort to root out the personal, systemic, and
 ecological violence in our midst.  What will be the source of our redemption from chaos and violence?  The
 new story of creation teaches us that the universe has an inner self-organizing and self-healing power that
 enables it to bring order out of chaos, light out of darkness, and clarity to the shadow.  The redemptive power
 of the Creator God is built into the very substance of the universe and will unfold within the dynamics of the
 universe.  "Redemption is planetary and global, as well as personal.  Redemption is about reclaiming the
 darkness, the nothingness, and chaos of our world, and celebrating the negative potential for new life and
 wholeness.” (Diarmuid O’Murchu)  The redemptive power of God within the universe is personalized for us 
 as Christians in the story of Jesus and his life-giving death and resurrection.” 
                                                                                                                                 Cletus Wessels, OP

 You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
                                                                                                                                                                    Psalm 18

  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you 
 may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into God's marvelous light
                                                                                                                                                                      1 Peter 2:9

  "Often we resist mystery of any sort, perceiving the unknown and uncertain as threats to be eliminated
 rather than invitations to deeper truth...Mystery asks us to live in the unknown with faith and to live in the
 uncertain with hope, trusting in the revelation of a deeper knowing and certainty that manifests as Love."
                                                                                                                                     Radical Amazement

 ...the darkness is passing and the true light already shines.
                                                                                                                                                 1 John 2:9
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                     We will have the kind of fire in our souls that will truly change 
our hearts.

"I am sure of this that the one who has begun the good work in you 
will carry it through to completion right up to the day of Christ Jesus."
                                                                                                                 Phil 1:5

Create your reign of unity now--
Through our fiery hearts
And willing hands.

Let your counsel rule our lives,
Clearing our intention
For co-creation.

Unite our "I can" to yours, so that
We walk as kings and queens
With every creature.
                                                                              Prayers of the Cosmos

"Discipleship implies a commitment to leave nets and homes, possessions and securities, lordship 
and legalities to be now, in our own worlds what Christ was for his: healer and prophet, voice and heart,
 call and sign of the God whose design for the world is justice and love."
                                                                                                                                                         Joan Chittister, OSB

                  We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without 
brightening our own.

"You are here to shine your light from every pore of your being.  Glorify your own nature, taking your power
back and standing in your own spiritual light, a quantum consciousness of awareness.  How are you using
your gifts?  Prayer is the only way.  Prayer is the language of our souls, the only way to feed your answers 
is to pray."  
                                                                                                                                                   Grandmother Agnes Baker

"What if we were to see ourselves as indeed Jesus wanted us to, as originally unconditionally 
loved by God?  What if we understood alienation from God, from each other and from
the world as a result of our massive rejection of this love?...alienation might be understood
as a consequence of freedom abused of which we are all capable.  Redemption  would cease
to be seen as outside ourselves and would become instead a unified whole centered
in our walking the way which Jesus claims to be.  It would require a personal commitment,
a yes that arises out of our freedom, ever touched by grace."
                                                                                                                                               Barbara Fiand, SNDdeN

"Those who love others abide in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in them."
                                                                                                                              1 John 2:10

Friday:

                       An age is called "dark," not because the light fails to shine 
but because people refuse to see it.

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! 
How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 
and you were unwilling.
                                                                                                                           Matthew 23:37

"Reconciliation is not about restoring relations with a vengeful God
who requires a supreme price to be paid.  Reconciliation is about mending the bonds we break and 
the disruption we cause when we refuse to allow the Spirit of Graciousness and Generosity to be 
expressed  in what we think, do and say."
                                                                                                                                       Praying a New Story

"I believe that one day humankind will bow before the altars of God  and be
crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and non-violent redemptive good will
will be proclaimed the rule of the land."
                                                                                                                                             Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, 
and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient 
or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.  For the time 
will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.  
But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an 
evangelist; fulfill your ministry.
                                                                                                      2 Timothy 4

                         True beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

"The principle of the Inner Light is this:  In every human soul there is implanted a certain element 
of God's own spirit and divine energy."
                                                                                Mary Blackmar

"We can’t be the light of the world unless we’re on fire.  The Christian life cannot be lived on autopilot,
 in robotic fashion.  That sort of existence is not living, but surviving.  And it will attract absolutely 
no one to Christ."
                                                                                                   Marcellino D'Ambrosio, PH.D

"Let your light shine before all in such a way that they may see your good works, 
and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
                                                                                   Matthew 5:16

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the 
darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." 
                                                                                                  Elizabeth Kubler-Ross