{"id":2612,"date":"2017-12-21T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T00:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/?p=2612"},"modified":"2017-12-18T11:59:26","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T11:59:26","slug":"journeying-through-advent-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/journeying-through-advent-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Journeying Through Advent 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week Four:<\/strong> Here am I, the servant of the Lord. (Luke 1: 26-38)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every Christmas is a reminder that we are called to mid wife God into our world. It is a time when we echo the words of Mary, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord.\u201d It is a season when we bring light into darkness, joy where there is sadness, hope to those who despair, peace where there is unrest and love to those who feel alone and isolated.<\/p>\n

Many might say, \u201cBut how can this be? How can I do this?\u201d This seems beyond me. I am so insignificant and of little means. Fear and doubt cloud our minds. Mary had all these feelings. She was overcome by fear. She doubted the credibility of the angel\u2019s message. She worried about societal misgivings. Yet, reassured by God, Mary said Yes!<\/a> She let love overcome fear.<\/p>\n

Madeleine L\u2019Engle, expresses this in her poem After Annunciation<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the irrational season
\nwhen love blooms bright and wild.
\nHad Mary been filled with reason
\nthere\u2019d have been no room for the child.<\/p>\n

This Christmas may your love bloom bright and wild, may your love conquer fear, may you mid-wife God into our expectant world, and may you proclaim to all around you:<\/p>\n

Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy\u2026
\nThe people who sat in darkness have seen a great light\u2026
\nFor the people who sat in the shadow of death a light has dawned\u2026
\nGlory to God<\/a> in the highest heaven, and on earth peace\u2026
\nFor a child has been born for us, a son given to us\u2026
\nHe is Christ the Lord.<\/p>\n

We wish you a very happy Christmas and every blessing for the New Year, 2018<\/p>\n

LISTEN:<\/strong> Oh Holy Night<\/a> \u2013 featuring Maile, Seumanu, Haretuku, Lealaitafea, and Matt Nickle<\/p>\n

REFLECT:<\/strong> Imaginative Prayer Exercise<\/a> and\/or Making Space for Tenderness<\/a><\/p>\n

CONSIDER: <\/strong>Join Tr\u00f3caire Christmas campaign \u201cUntil Love Conquers Fear<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Week Four: Here am I, the servant of the Lord. (Luke 1: 26-38) Every Christmas is a reminder that we are called to mid wife God into our world. It is a time when we echo the words of Mary, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord.\u201d It is a season when we bring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.growinlove.ie\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}