Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Elizabeth Kirkland CahillDecember 24, 2016

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. ~ Lk 1:68

My youth choir director, the redoubtable Mrs. Davis, ran a tight ship—I recall more than one instance when she tossed a mischievous boy out of rehearsal!—but she was also one of the formative religious instructors of my childhood. As we rehearsed hymns and anthems every Tuesday afternoon, she would pause to offer her wisdom. She often held forth on the difference between license and freedom, warning us that doing whatever we wanted (which seemed pretty appealing to a ten-year-old) would ultimately make us unhappy, and that life as a Christian entailed certain commitments and obligations that would bring us true freedom.

As Advent hurtles towards a close—despite our best efforts to harness time!—it is my hope that our readings have illuminated the freedom we find in the commitment to prayer. The first step in prayer is to find that Sabbath moment—to stop time, be still, and sense the presence of God. From there, our conversation with the Lord proceeds: we confess our shortcomings, give thanks for our blessings, offer up our petitions, and finally, perhaps most importantly, listen for his voice.

RELATED: To subscribe to these Advent reflections, sign up here and check "Digital Content Updates."

This takes effort, and discipline; it is, some days, even a burden. But as Christ assures us, his burden is light, and his yoke is easy. By setting aside time to “check in” daily with the God who calls us by name, who watches over us, who loves us, we will gradually come to understand the part He has sent us to play in the history of salvation, a history whose trajectory was changed irrevocably with the birth of Christ, the joyful event that we celebrate tomorrow. A happy Christmas to one and all!

RELATED: Read all of our Advent reflections for 2016

Loving Lord, who has raised up for us a mighty Savior, Show me the freedom of life in you as I celebrate the birth of Christ. Amen.

For today’s readings, click here.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who helped expose the abuse committed by leaders of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, gives Pope Leo XIV a stole made of alpaca wool, during the pope's meeting with members of the media May 12, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo offered a heartening message for a global media that has endured a pretty awful year.
Kevin ClarkeMay 23, 2025
If you think our enthusiasm for our basketball team was intense, just wait until you see our support for Pope Leo XIV.
Jack DoolinMay 23, 2025
“I don’t think he’s the kind of man who sends coded messages,” Cardinal Michael Czerny says in this exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 23, 2025
First-grade students finish an assignment at St. Ambrose Catholic School in Tucson, Ariz., in this 2014 photo. Arizona has one of the nation’s strongest school choice programs, with vouchers available to every child in the state. (CNS file photo/Nancy Wiechec)
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling denying state funds to a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. What should American Catholics be asking about public funding for school choice?
Beth BlaufussMay 23, 2025