SECRET SEASON

Madonna del Parto- 15th C. Italian

ADVENT  is the season of the secret, the secret of the growth of Christ, of Divine Love growing in silence. It is the season of humility, silence, and growth. For nine months Christ grew in His Mother’s body. By His own will she formed Him from herself, from the simplicity of her daily life. She had nothing to give Him but herself. He asked for nothing else. She gave Him herself.

                                                              Caryll  Houselander

Advent is the time of waiting, of quiet listening, of expectation, of silence. A pregnant woman is so happy, so content. She lives as if wrapped in a garment of silence,  as though she is listening to hear the stir of life within her. But the intentness with which one awaits such stirring is like nothing so much as a blanket of silence.