Advent

Today's the First Sunday in Advent, and I'm entering into that time of waiting and preparation with extra feeling this year. My own waiting and preparation - the boxes and suitcases stacked here and there in the cabin, the loads of trash and discards I've carried out - are a fine way to enter into the Advent spirit.

This will be a hard December for many, with jobs disappearing, savings shrinking, and the value of houses going down fast. But Advent expectation had never been about the glitz of Christmas, the shopping and the parties. It's a time of waiting for someone poor and powerless to be born in us and to transform our lives.

I light one Advent candle in hope of transformation.