Waiting in joyful hope!
A chalk drawing by Sr. Marie Paul O' Brien, pddm (Dublin) The birth of Jesus Christ in that stable in Bethlehem is where all my questions begin to be answered” . (Cardinal Basil Hume) Part of me understands these words from the late Archbishop of Westminster for it was during Advent about 9 years ago that I only began to understand the mystery of life, of death, of birth, of motherhood, the real meaning of Advent and Christmas and the preparation for the birth of the Infant King. “The people in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:2). That previous summer, our journey as a family was plunged into darkness with the sudden death of our father at the age of 47. Two days afterwards, my sister announced that she was expecting her first child. God, through his mysterious ways, had already begun to comfort us and assure us that life would go on. A few months afterwards, I recall how on the first Sunday of Advent, my sister told us that she had already named the baby gro
