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On Sunday the daily Food For Faith Advent reflections begin. This brief post not only lets you know you are on the list, but invites you to take the next 48 hours to prepare.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere these days are among the busiest of the year since Christmas also marks the end of the study and work year and the beginning of the summer break.

The many demands of these days provide an ideal opportunity for noticing God who is present and active with us and in us even when might not think we have the time to notice.

But when we are feeling pressured, we are most helped by noticing that Jesus is with us. We are never alone.

There is a great novel, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, and when I read it a few years ago I was greatly challenged by one phrase:

“Faced with the Divine, people took refuge in the banal, as though answering a cosmic multiple-choice question: If you saw a burning bush, would you (a) call 911, (b) get the hot dogs, or (c) recognise God? A vanishingly small number of people would recognise God.”

As we make this Advent journey, walking together, set a few minutes at least a couple of times every day to practice recognising God. Savour the moments when you are walking or driving or waiting to recognise the presence and action of God.

You might like to let others know about these daily Advent emails. Invite them to sign up at www.foodforfaith.org.nz. Use this link to invite others to pray for those you know to be in need, and to pray for their intentions. Take a leap in faith to invite others to join you at a local cafe – arrange that, and look to see where others are meeting at this link.

And keep me in your prayer too. Over these days I am making a 30 day retreat and i prepared these first Advent posts before my retreat, The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius, began. Know that on this retreat I am praying for all Food For Faith readers, and for your intentions.

“In this season of Advent,
we are called to expand
the horizons of our hearts,
to be amazed by the life
which presents itself each day with newness.
In order to do this,
we must learn to not depend
on our own certainties,
on our own established strategies,
because the Lord comes at a time
that we do not imagine.
He comes to bring us
into a more beautiful and grand dimension.”
Pope Francis, Angelus, 27th November 2016