From Season to Season

O people of Sion, behold, the Lord will come to save the nations, and the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard in the joy of your heart. —Entrance Antiphon for the Second Sunday of Advent, based upon Isaiah 30:19, 30 Advent is a complicated season. I’m even tempted to say that this is the most complicated season of the Church Year. Unlike its counterparts, including Lent, Advent presumes that we Christians have been formed in an adult faith that is prepared to celebrate an adult Christmas. As we know, Advent isn’t a season that is focused only on the past—Advent is also a season of reflection and attentiveness as we recognize the One who is among us right now and who will come in glory in the future. I have to admit, though, that I’m feeling disheartened this Advent. A key virtue of this season is hope but, like so many, I’m finding hope difficult these days. So, as I was reflecting on this Sunday's readings with their prophets calling for comfort and conversion...

When I made my first vows as a Benedictine monk in 2004, I was very excited about the prospect of receiving a new (religious) name. The custom of the community of which I was a member is that the soon-to-be professed monk submits three preferred names to the abbot. The abbot, as head of the community, would then either pick one of the three names or select one of his own choosing. I spent weeks researching names. The only real considerations were that it had to be the name of a saint or beati and that there couldn’t be anyone else in the community with that name. In a community of more than 100 members, options were limited pretty quickly. But, I know a lot of saints and wasn’t put off by the prospect of having a name that was a bit out of the ordinary.    And so, I settled on my three choices: Leander , Silas, and Nicholas . Although the community had had Leanders and Nicholases in the past, Silas would be a first. And, after a few days of waiting, Silas was ...