{"id":8300,"date":"2021-11-25T23:48:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-25T23:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/?post_type=article&#038;p=8300"},"modified":"2021-11-26T00:19:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T00:19:25","slug":"our-longing-during-advent-is-an-invitation-to-a-radical-realignment-of-our-priorities","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/article\/our-longing-during-advent-is-an-invitation-to-a-radical-realignment-of-our-priorities\/","title":{"rendered":"What do we long for during Advent?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the most haunting hymns for Advent is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Often sung as a processional, it is a hymn of longing for the return of Jesus into the world and more importantly into our hearts and into our lives. We prepare with longing for the birth of a child whose love is unfathomable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This year has been a difficult year and a year when we too have experienced longing:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">longing for the pandemic to end;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">longing for restrictions to be lifted;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> longing for a return to school and to work;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">longing for a return to \u201cnormality&#8221;. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even today as I write this our Premier has tantalised us with the next set of restrictions being lifted &#8211; 95% vaccinated or the inclusive 15 December &#8211; and we continue to long&#8230;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I imagine that some believe that longing is a negative aspect of the human condition but let us not forget what the longing of COVID-19 has inspired in many people. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Their new normal is to change their priorities:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">family before work;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> visiting elderly relatives before self; <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">forgiving old grudges; <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">being kind; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> being more generous.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our longing during Advent is an invitation to a radical realignment of our priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What do we long for at Christmas?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To have more or to be more!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8376 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/11\/istockphoto-857036344-612x612-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is the message that is sometimes hidden in the preparations during Advent &#8211; preparations that sometimes absorb us so that we miss the opportunity of Advent to reassess our lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While Advent is a powerful liturgical season in its own right, because it is more subtle than Christmas and comes with less drama than the Easter season, it can be missed as a time of preparation not only to receive the love of Jesus again but to share the love of Jesus overflowing through our hearts to others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some days when I have been weary I have longed for an end to the school term, an end to the competing and challenging priorities that are a necessary part of the dynamic of a large secondary College. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I look again and find again that longing that will lift my heart and soul and say O Come, O Come Emmanuel, come and be born in my heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Advent begins this weekend\u2026 the invitation is there for each of us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">May the longing for Christ deep in your hearts and homes prepare you and your loved ones for the love that only our Emmanuel can satisfy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><strong><em>Mary Leask<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n<h6><strong><em>Principal<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most haunting hymns for Advent is O Come, O Come Emmanuel&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-8300","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/8300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}