By Lisa Steiner, Ursuline Associate

Waiting, hoping, longing: these are the themes of Advent. In our willingness to wait, in our confidence to hope, and in our desire to long, all of humanity prepares itself for the coming of our Savior. There is no shortcut to the process of welcoming Jesus into our hearts. It is gestational at its core. The silence and darkness of Advent prepare us in unspoken and unseen ways to find our spiritual voice and light. We are called to honor this time, much like a seed living underground, until we spring forth and literally bloom in the light of Christ.

Composer Marty Haugen wrote a beautiful Advent song called “My Soul in Stillness Waits” :

For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits; truly my hope is in you.

O Lord of Light, our only hope of glory, your radiance shines in all who look to you.

Come, light the hearts of all in dark and shadow.

For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits; truly my hope is in you.

O Root of Life, implant your seed within us, and in our Advent draw us all to you.

Our hope reborn, in dying and in rising.

For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits; truly my hope is in you.

This somber song expresses best how my heart feels during Advent. Even though I love Handel’s Messiah in all its Advent glory, I find myself going back to the quiet, even tentative melody of Haugen’s song to let myself enter fully into the Advent experience each year. There is something beautiful in its quiet simplicity that speaks volumes to me.

https://youtu.be/X5d6Ngf-nDM?si=zcshrBWr0kZFqqAH

This song also makes me think of Mary, who trusted God’s plan and her part in it. Her pregnancy was her own personal Advent. Mary did not fully understand what was in store, but she believed in God’s wisdom enough to say “yes.”  She waited, she hoped, she longed. Her labor brought the miracle of God’s incarnation to the world, and her mothering gave witness to God’s unconditional love. Mary thus became the Holy Mother to all people.

I identify with Mary on the human level as a mother, and I seek her presence whenever I need consolation or pray for compassion. To me, Mary’s message in her Magnificat is the cornerstone of Advent, a season whose cadence and meaning are important to return to each year.

So let us not “fast forward” to Christmas just yet. Instead, let us linger a bit longer in the holy season of Advent. I pray that our own waiting, hoping, and longing will open our hearts to the Christian love that God intended. Then may our weary world rejoice when it is time!