What Gifts Can We Bring – Advent Retreat in Daily Living (Week 4)

Monday was the fourth and final session of the Advent Retreat in Daily Living I offered at the University of St. Thomas School of Law over these past four weeks.

We began the session, as always, by giving the participants time to share in small groups what went on in their prayer over the past week. I was delighted at how people responded particularly to Denise Levertov’s lovely poem on the Annunciation, which I wrote about the other day. People also had very positive experiences writing their own O Antiphons or Advent poems.

As we approach these final days before Christmas, I encouraged everyone to be intentional about reflecting on the question: When I kneel before the creche on Christmas morning, what gift will I lay before the Christ child.

To move us into that spirit, I shared one of my favorite stories associated with the Incarnation: Henry Van Dyke’s The Story of the Other Wise Man. I partially read and partially described this wonderful tale, which everyone enjoyed.

You can access a recording of my talk here or stream it from the icon below. (The podcast runs for 16:37.)

Blessings on these final days of Advent.