The Day of Joy Drew Near
Day 16: Humility
Editor’s Note: For day 16 of our Advent series, “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Amanda MacMillan, a DCSC alumna and former house manager, reflects on the Feast of the Epiphany and contemplates how we can approach our Lord with humility. The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the first visitors to the Holy Family. The…
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Day 15: Poverty
Editor’s Note: For day 15 of our Advent series, “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Ralph Anderson, a newly-commissioned missioner shares his thoughts on poverty and describes how one of his Franciscan brothers embodied this virtue. When the list for the Advent blog series topics came around, I was the last to sign up. The…
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Day 14: Stood Before the Manger
Editor’s Note: For day 14 of our Advent series, “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Executive Director Elizabeth Hughes shares farewell with the FMS family after 7 years of service to the organization. It is early Advent, and I join my friend’s 5-year-old in setting up their nativity from Cote d’Ivoire, comprised of the Holy…
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Day 13: Simplicity
Editor’s Note: For day 13 of our Advent series, “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” missioner Julia Pinto contemplates the simplicity of Jesus’ Nativity and tells the story of a simple yet meaningful encounter. God, I don’t get it.. Why a barn in some far-off village? Why not have the King of the universe born…
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Day 12: Lights
Editor’s Note: For day 12 of our Advent series, “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Darleen Pryds discusses how an icon of the Nativity has become more than a simple Advent or Christmas decoration. Years ago, a friend gave me a small icon of the Nativity. I wasn’t sure what to do with it until…
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Day 11: A New Bethlehem
Editor’s Note: For day 11 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” DC Service Corps alumnus Sam Hardwick writes a poem that contemplates the Nativity of Jesus and how we participate in this new birth through Baptism and the Eucharist. Birth in a strange land. Joy and amazement from a message. Truth,…
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Day 10: Joy to Be Found
Editor’s Note: For day 10 of our Advent series, “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Susan Sarkissian, a newly-commissioned missioner, recounts a season in her life when God helped her experience genuine joy. Today is a celebration of the birth of Jesus. There is great joy to be had in recognizing this incredibly humble and…
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Day 9: Praise
Editor’s Note: For Day 9 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” returned missioner Anna Metzger, inspired by the lyrics of a praise and worship song, describes how she continues to praise God through changes and challenges. Before reading the following blog, I encourage you to take a few minutes to listen…
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Day 8: Solemn: An Advent that Looks Beyond the Blow-Up Santa
Editor’s Note: For day 8 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” DC Service Corps member Bohdan O’Shaughnessy contemplates the solemn nature of Advent and Christmas. Admittedly, the word “solemn” is not a term I have associated with Advent or Christmas. I typically would assign “joy” or “anticipation” to describe this time…
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Day 7: Prepared
Editor’s Note: For day 7 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Grace Kueber, a DC Service Corps alumna, describes her tendency to over prepare and resolves to trust in God. I always grew up making sure I was prepared. For bad weather – dress warmly, maybe an umbrella, For traffic –…
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Day 6: Multitude
Editor’s Note: For day 6 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” lay missioner Mari Snyder uses an acrostic, a poetic device in which the first letter of each line forms a word, to describe the diverse people whom she encounters at her ministry site along the US-Mexico border. On a pilgrimage…
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Day 5: Tears
Editor’s Note: For day 5 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Madeline Turley, a DC Service Corps alumna and current blog manager, shares how a pilgrimage to the Holy Land restored her hope during a season of tears and waiting. “Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy.”…
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Day 4: Brilliant: Why Let There Be Light?
Editor’s Note: For day 4 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” DC Service Corps member Jennifer Eburuoh compares the image of light disrupting darkness to the Advent season and the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation. Light can be a disturbance–even a nuisance. Many of us have experienced an interruption of sleep due…
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Day 3: Amplifies
Editor’s Note: For day 3 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,”Stephan Rochefort, the Casa San Salvador house manager, uses the imagery and the composition of The Adoration of the Magi to contemplate Jesus’ Nativity. Housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is my favorite depiction of the Nativity,…
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Day 2: Arrive
Editor’s Note: For day 2 of our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” DC Service Corps member Noah Duclos reflects on waiting for Jesus’ arrival during Advent and notices that God always has been and always will be present in our world. An ongoing debate in the Casa community has been when it…
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Day 1: Invited
Editor’s Note: To begin our Advent series “The Day of Joy Drew Near,” Associate Director Rose Hardwick shares an experience from her pilgrimage to Assisi and shows how God invited her to go deeper into a beloved Christmas tradition. “How would you like to go on a pilgrimage to Assisi as your professional development for…
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