October 16, 2024

The quote from Psalm 90 and photo above reminds me of Autumn, my favorite season.  It is the one I miss most since moving to Florida: the crisp air, the pretty colors, even the fading daylight. More than any other season, it reminds me of the passing of time.  As the days shorten, I am reminded of the brevity of life.  We exist on this earth for such a short time.  God gave us this brief moment in time to live purposefully, to make use of the time we have. 

 

One of my favorite settings of Psalm 90 is “In Every Age.” By Janet Sullivan Whitaker.  

 

Psalm 90 speaks to us of the eternity of God.  “Before the mountains you are God.”  A mountain can appear to soar forever into the sky.  Looking out over the water at the horizon, it seems to never end.  Yet, God is above, before and behind all of it.  God is God from long before we can remember and for beyond the span of our lives.  We will wither and fade, but God is forever.  We embrace everything that comes to us because even in our most challenging times, our joys and sorrows, God is eternal and He is with us.

 

Cecilia Carroll

Advent Square Director

 


Read more

October 15, 2024

In Mark 10: 17-22, we meet the “Rich Young Man.”  A successful man, a good man who followed The Law, and a man concerned about spending eternity with God.  The young man encounters Jesus and asks him “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus’ answer is not what the man expects and he “goes away sad.”  

Some have wrongly interpreted this to be a condemnation of wealth and success.  It is not.  It is rather a cautionary tale, asking us to look deeply at our motivations and values.  Are we attaining stuff just to have it or are we using the gifts given us to strive to live the best Christian life that we can?  Do we give credit where credit is due and in the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola “return it all to God.”  

We can contrast the story of Mark’s “Rich  Young Man” with another rich young man who did choose to give it all away and follow what he believe was the path for his life, St. Francis of Assisi.  If our rich young man chose the crown of gold, we can say that St. Francis, eventually, after an encounter with the Lord, chose the crown of thorns.  

In our time and context, what does it mean to choose God, rather than gold?  Are we really supposed to give all of our hard won possessions away, dress in brown sack cloth and with nothing but sandals and a staff, set out to spread the Gospel?  No, we are all products of our time and St. Francis was reacting to what he saw as excesses in and out of The Church.  Rather, we should take the words of prayer of St. Francis to heart.

In his “Simple Prayer,” St. Francis challenges us to be the Lord’s instruments in the world.  To bring compassion, peace, understanding, truth, faith, love and justice to the world.  We don’t need to give up our worldly possessions to do so, but rather put the gifts the Lord gave us to work for His glory.

I was told to “be me” in sharing these devotions, so I wouldn’t be me without music, the link below is to a version of the Prayer of St. Francis that I hope you enjoy.  It is not a professional recording, but the best I could find.

Cecilia Carroll
Executive Director
Advent Square

Read more

October 14, 2024

We all connect with God in different ways.  Some find the Lord in the beauty of his creation, some through contemplative prayer, bible study, and faith sharing groups, and  some by serving others.  I find my strongest connection to God is through music. Frequently, when I hear or read sacred scripture, or listen to the Homily/Sermon, a hymn or song will pop into my head.  When Pastor Andy did his study on St. Francis of Assisi, and we would say the prayer of St. Francis together at the end, I had the hymn of the same title on replay in my head the rest of the evening.  

As I became acclimated to my role at Advent and learned of all the ministries the community supports, the song that popped into my head was “We are the Hands of Christ” by composer Joel Raney.  Click HERE for a recording.  The text set to this haunting melody is a teaching attributed to St. Teresa of Avila, a mystic and Doctor of the Church.    

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which He looks

           Compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are His body.

Christ has no body now but yours.” 

When I ponder these words and look at the photo above, I see Advent Life Ministries. One example is the inspiring group who just completed the Camino.  They literally used their feet to be Christ in this world.  

Another Theresa, St. Therese of Lisieux is known for her philosophy that we must do small things with great love.  As we continue to move forward as a Christian community, what can we learn from these two women?  How can we be Christ’s hands and feet in a world that so needs Him?  What little acts of kindness, service, and justice can we do each day with great love?
 
Cecilia Carroll
Executive Director
Advent Square

Read more

October 11, 2024

Psalm 128 – NIV

A song of ascents.

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
    who walk in obedience to him.
You will eat the fruit of your labor;
    blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
    around your table.
Yes, this will be the blessing
    for the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion;
    may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life.
May you live to see your children’s children—
    peace be on Israel.

Maybe I am just a little sensitive due to all the walking I have been doing in preparation for the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago,  but whenever I read anything, especially scripture, with the idea of “walking” in it, I pay particular attention.  

Psalm 128 is one of 15 songs sung by travelers on their way to Jerusalem, hence the ascent title, and the focus on walking.  This Psalm not only calls out the walk in obedience, but also translates “Fear” as “walk in the ways”… of the Lord.

Our walk along the Camino de Santiago will bring about many benefits.  Physical, emotional and spiritual to name a few, but none of these compare to the promises of the blessings called out in this Psalm. Who isn’t looking for the personal and national blessings identified here?

As you read this devotion, I will be on the road “singing” the song of Psalm 128.  I encourage you also to sing/pray the blessings of Psalm 128 for yourself, family, nation, and Church as we “walk in His ways”.

Ultreia…Doug

(Camino greeting meaning Let’s go forward)


Read more

October 10, 2024

Psalm 127 The Message

127 1-2 If God doesn’t build the house,
    the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn’t guard the city,
    the night watchman might as well nap.
It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
    and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don’t you know he enjoys
    giving rest to those he loves?

3-5 Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?
    the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows
    are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
    with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you;
    you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.

In the last 11 years over 35 women from Advent have “challenged” themselves physically, spiritually and financially to engage in the fight against human trafficking with Freedom Challenge.  In that time, our women from Advent have raised over 1.5 million dollars to rescue, rehabilitate, educate and prevent human trafficking.  It has, OBVIOUSLY, been a Holy Spirit led movement.  Why do I say, “obviously?”  Psalm 127 tells us plainly, “if God doesn’t build the house, the builders only build shacks.”  We can work “our fingers to the bone,” but no matter what we do or where we are, the Lord is the One who makes things come to pass.  And to me that is a perfect message because human trafficking feels like an impossible fight to be in, but as the Psalmist continues, “Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.”  Thank you, Lord, for calling us to an impossible task, because we know that the victories come from you!

Susan Hagen 


Read more

October 9, 2024

Psalm 126 (The Message)

126 1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
    when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
    we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
    “God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
    we are one happy people.

4-6 And now, God, do it again—
    bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
    will shout “Yes!” at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Anyone who has been on a mission trip will tell you, the blessing that you think you are going to deliver to someone else, comes back to you tenfold.  When Andy and I visited India with Freedom Challenge, we were in a church that was meeting in a school in the slums of Mumbai—they asked Andy to share a word from scripture and a greeting from Advent.  The people in attendance hung on every word as his message was translated into Hindi and then after the service, they lined up for us to pray for them.  There is such a beauty in people who are hungry for the deliciousness of our heavenly Father.  In the midst of a slum in India, in a little church meeting in a school—they couldn’t believe their good fortune that God loves them—it overflowed from them.  And as we walked through the slum after that wonderful service—we prayed for God to “do it again,” for every person we encountered, knowing that his promise is to restore all creation.  

As we walk El Camino, our prayer is like the Psalmist—bring rain to the draught stricken lives of the enslaved, so that those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing, singing,  “God was wonderful to us!”  Let it be so, Lord! 
 
Susan Hagen

Read more

October 8, 2024

Psalm 126 1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
    when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
    we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
    “God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
    we are one happy people.

4-6 And now, God, do it again—
    bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
    will shout “Yes!” at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

As I read Psalm 126 and finalize my packing and preparations to start our Camino de Santiago trek, I am reflecting on past victories and God’s faithfulness, that just as the Israelites experienced the joy of deliverance, this journey represents a fight for the freedom and restoration of those trapped in modern-day slavery. Each step taken on the Camino will mirror the steps that victims of trafficking take as they rebuild their lives after being freed from captivity. 

This verse is a call to endurance, faith and hope as this trek is not just a physical journey—it’s a spiritual one that echoes the themes of Psalm 126: from captivity to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from labor to harvest. 

Together, our team, our church community, friends, family, etc. are sowing seeds through awareness and fundraising, trusting that God will turn today’s tears and struggles into a future harvest of freedom and healing for many. Psalm 126 conveys hope to those who are suffering, promising that their perseverance will be rewarded by God. Just as the final verse uses agricultural imagery, symbolizing that hard work and sorrow in difficult seasons will eventually produce a harvest of blessings and joy, we trust that our efforts, even if they feel small in the face of such a large issue, will ultimately bring about a harvest of freedom and justice. Let’s always remember that when we put our trust in Jesus, no matter what we’re going through, He will always provide. He covers us with His infinite love and fills our spirit with joy.
 
Adriana Santovenia

Read more

October 7, 2024

Psalm 125 (A song of ascents, or sometimes called Gradual Psalms, Songs of Degree’s or my favorite, “Songs of Steps”.  How appropriate for us on this day.)

Psalm 125: 1-2

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. 

Let this “Song of Steps” resonate in you.  God’s Pilgrim sojourner.  But because you trust in the Lord and not yourself or anyone/anything else, YOU are like a mountain.  Strong and unshakable. 

The Lord surrounds you today as we follow the path of St. James.  He surrounds you tomorrow with a new dawn and new path.  He surrounds you forevermore with his HIS unshakable Strength, Peace, Love and Wisdom.
 
Sheree Wright

Read more

October 4, 2024

Psalm 122:1-2

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.

This psalm was written for the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. They were making an obligatory trip to celebrate the High Holy Days in the presence of the Lord.  These words also describe how I felt when I heard that the Freedom Challenge this year was a pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago (The way of St. James). I rejoiced! This is a pilgrimage I have had on my heart for several years. The opportunity to make this pilgrimage as my first Freedom Challenge seemed like divine timing. 

For thousands of years, pilgrims have made the journey to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela via various routes through France, Spain, or Portugal. Historically, one undertook this pilgrimage to prove oneself worthy of entering the gates of Heaven. In modern times, though, this is a journey most take for personal reasons, be it a bucket list, a fitness challenge, or the perfect Instagram post. 

Our pilgrimage though, with the Freedom Challenge, definitely has a higher purpose. We walk not to guarantee our place in Heaven; we know that Jesus has already guaranteed that spot for eternity. We walk for those who can’t. We walk for those held against their will and trapped in the heartbreaking cycle of human trafficking. While we walk, we will speak on their behalf, raise awareness, and pray for their freedom.

Ultimately, Psalm 122 is a song of joy. It is a song sung by all God’s people as they make their way to worship. It is a prayer for peace and security in Jerusalem and beyond. Will you join us and pray with joy as we walk The Way?
 
Leanne Welch

Read more

October 3, 2024

PSALM 121 – A SONG OF ASCENT 

“I lift my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth 

He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber.  Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep 

The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night 

The Lord will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” 

As we begin our walk on the Camino de Santiago I am comforted by the words of this psalm. This psalm is described as a song of ascent.  The psalms of ascent were sung as pilgrims climbed the ascent to the Temple mount in Jerusalem.  The ascent psalms were meant to encourage those who seek to worship God as they made their way up the hill.  It encourages me to remember that the Lord will be with us as we traverse the unknown roads of Portugal and seek to draw closer to Him in fellowship and in worship.   

In the first line of the psalm the psalmist looks up to the hills and asks where help comes from.  He then acknowledges that our help comes from the Lord.  Sometimes we look for help in other places, but we can know that help always comes from the Lord. The psalm goes on to describe the confidence we have that the Lord is with us every step of the way and that He will keep us from harm day or night as He watches over us.  The psalm’s final and ultimate assurance is that the Lord will be with us in our coming and going both now and forevermore.  We only have to trust Him.  

Some of us are now on a pilgrimage in Portugal, but we are all on our own pilgrimage through life.  And on our journey, we remember that our help comes from the Lord.  We remember that He will be with us every step guarding and guiding us.  And the Lord will never ever leave us. As Christians our destination at the end of life is to ascend to be with the Lord.  Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection and our belief in Him we have that assurance and we can worship Him with praise and thanksgiving! 
 
Gloria North

Read more