Update (December 2004)

The Advent-Christmas season situates our life between memory and hope.  In the scriptures we are reminded of how God has broken into our world and into our lives. God’s coming brings light where there once was darkness, ends captivity and sets a people free.  Our monastic community gathers each Saturday evening in Advent for Vigil.  Our chapel is almost completely dark except for the candles of the Advent wreath and a small light at the ambo where one of us will give a reflection.  We sing the psalms by heart or repeat after a cantor.  We listen to God’s Word.  We remember as a people gathered around the memory of God’s faithfulness in the past and the promise to be there in a new way in the future. We allow ourselves to be a community of hope.  The Word stirs in us a deep longing for God’s peace and justice in our world.