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Day 16: Beauty

Editor’s Note: On the sixteenth and final day of our Advent blog series, “Following the Holy Family in Solidarity,” Interim Executive Director Maggie Conley reflects on beautiful moments from the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Advent is a time of prayer, a time of preparation, and a time of waiting. It is a season for prioritizing things that our US culture actively works against with secularism, immediate gratification and consumerism. Every year, I enter the Advent season telling myself that THIS will be the year that I am able to fully slow down, stay focused on the Advent season, and not jump ahead to Christmas. I tell myself that as a family, we will not succumb to the loud noises and bright lights around us telling us HOW we should be preparing for Christmas, not as a season but as a day. SPOILER ALERT- we fell short AGAIN this year.

But, as I sit here in the new year and the season of Christmas, instead of stewing on where we fell short, I recognize where those glimpses of beauty can be found in the planned and the unplanned. Like the star that guides the wise men to the baby Jesus, these seemingly small glimpses of light can shine brightly.

Our multi-generational gatherings with parents, grandparents, children, nieces and nephews remind us that we all operate at a different pace and there is so much to learn from spending time with each other. It is not nearly as significant as our Lay Missioners entering a different culture but seeing a teenager and octogenarian interacting and laughing is a cross-cultural experience.
Our family takes the time to walk, to breathe and to pray together. Putting down the devices that often over fill the empty spaces and our times of silence offers the opportunity to sit and be present with each other, ourselves, and God.
We prepare food and meals that are more than just substance. Instead of grabbing something in a busy time, we share time in the kitchen for our own meals and treats to friends. We extend time around the table and find beauty in our own handiwork of the food.

The liturgical season looks different in each of our homes and with whomever we live as we strive to have them be “places of communion and prayer.” In these final days of the Christmas season, I hope to continue to find the beauty and take the time to truly be present and center our communion in Christ.

Questions for Reflection: Where did you recognize glimpses of beauty during these recent Advent and Christmas seasons? How can you appreciate beautiful moments throughout the new year?

Posted On: January 8, 2025/Advent

Tagged in:

beauty, Following the Holy Family in Solidarity, christmas, advent, family

Maggie Conley

Maggie Conley joins the Franciscan Mission Service staff as Interim Executive Director. After close to thirty years of professional work in various Catholic social justice organizations, Maggie is grateful to be able to bring her experience in non-profit leadership and with organizations in transition to FMS, an organization so steeped in faith and the Franciscan tradition.

Maggie has worked with Catholic Relief Services, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities) and most recently the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, all of which have allowed her both professional experience and personal and spiritual growth. Maggie's commitment to faith in action began as she earned her B.S. in Communications/Public Relations from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH.

Outside of work, Maggie enjoys reading across many genres, trying her hand at various crafts and finding the best local beer and ice cream wherever she finds herself. Maggie lives with her husband and three children who are becoming dangerously close to not being children any longer, and she is actively involved in their various school, community and athletic endeavors.