Soul Scribe

Advent is a season of preparation for one of the greatest gifts of all time – the birth of a child named Jesus, who would come to sacrifice himself for those he loved.

Many see Jesus as a prophet, but for Christians he is Emmanuel, God with us.

Jesus reached out to anyone in need and called us all to do the same – a conversion of our souls that made us keepers of one another, as sisters and brothers in him.

This is our call from Jesus, but this means we are called to action. It is a call that Jesus lived from birth to death, as we must do as well.

Is it a call we always heed?

Of course not, let’s be honest. As humans, we often fail. Our failure is not because of Jesus or God. But it is a part of our learning process.

How we respond to our failures is the true test of our call.

Take a few moments before the celebration of Christ’s birth to prepare yourself – not just in decorating the nativity scene, Christmas tree and presents for your family and friends – prepare your soul to meet Jesus.

Pope Benedict XVI reminded the world to do so during his papal audience Dec. 22. You can see what he said here.

Now deck the halls of your soul in preparation for the ultimate Christmas present ever!

“For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

John 3:16
(New Jerusalem Bible)

My longing for truth was a single prayer.

Edith Stein (St. Benedicta of the Cross)

The etymology (fancy name for where a word comes from) of the word vocation takes it back to the word voice.  I love the idea of that relationship.

My vocation is my voice in the world.  It’s what I’m charged to do every day.  My voice is my vocation.

As a writer, voice is that all-important, yet unexplainable thing that makes great literature.  It’s all about the voice.  No one can slap a real definition on what voice actually IS, but they sure try – sorta like God.

We try to define God, but we really only capture the smallest essence.  That’s part of the evolution of faith – we understand a bit more each day of what God has revealed to us.  But try as we might to define God – God will never be contained by us.

God is so much more than we can imagine.  It’s the greatest mystery of all time.  Keep up the sleuthing and we’ll be rewarded with a glimpse of the truth.

I’m settling into my vocation.  It can be difficult to throw thoughts out there into the world, because it contains my voice – my soul is in everything I do.

So despite my trepidations, I’m sharing my vocation/voice/soul with the world.  Maybe one day, I’ll hear back from you about it.

No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.  You eye is the lamp of your body.  If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness.

Luke 11:33-34

New Revised Standard Version