Wednesday of the First Week of Advent - St. Edmund Campion
My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they will collapse on the way. - Matthew 15:32 For many in our day, this Advent season will go by unnoticed; even Christmas will be little more than another day. The cold of winter, the gnawing pangs of hunger, the stress of the holiday season, and the insecurities of an unstable economy are all realities of Advent. The pressures of day-to-day life can eclipse the promise that Advent brings to a tired world. It is only by the grace of God that any of us are able to endure the trials and challenges of life in a world where many fight to survive. For Catholics in England living during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the world seemed as though it had been turned upside-down. The “Old Religion” had been outlawed in favor of the...