What does Advent mean to me?
(art work by Sr. M. Lidwina Gaurea, pddm- PDDM Chapel 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 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). In 2006, our journey as a family was plunged into darkness with the sudden death of our young father. 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 assuring us that life would go on. A few months afterwards, I recall how on the first Sunday of Advent, my sister informed us that she had already named the baby growing within her: Joshua, or ‘ Jesus saves’