![]() You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence May we "look for and be aware of God's presence" in each human life we come in contact with and in each moment of our day, so that we will be ready to welcome our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into our world and into our hearts. We would like to share it with you and ask you to pray it with us. ![]() ![]() I felt that we were honoring the Mother of God for her deep faith and vigilance and asking her to teach us!īishop John prayed this beautiful prayer which Pope Benedict had just prayed earlier in the day. Isaiah reproves the people of Israel, long before the coming of Christ, because the animals in the stable recognize Him, but they (we!) do not.īishop John came to the monastery on Saturday to celebrate, in union with Pope Benedict, what the pope named a "Vigil for All Nascent Human Life." Several people joined us as we prayed the Akathist in honor of the Mother of God followed by Great Vespers. It must have been the same for the residents of Bethlehem. As the darkness of each day lengthens and deepens, as the busyness of the world increases and captures our attention, waiting and seeking for something-someone-who is very silent and very hidden is often the last thing we are thinking about. Vigilance, he said, is "looking for and being aware of God's presence."ĭuring this Nativity fast, it seems very difficult to be vigilant. ![]() What struck me the most, however, was his definition of the word vigilance. He spoke to us about many things regarding monasticism, prayer and preparing our hearts for the celebration of Christ's birth. Abbot Leo Schlosser from Holy Trinity Monastery in Butler, Pennsylvania, came recently to give us a short retreat in preparation for the Nativity. ![]()
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