An Advent Reflection Calendar 2020

This Advent EarthConnection is offering a series of quotes from Pope Francis for reflection during this difficult time of the pandemic.

Sunday, November 29 – First Sunday of Advent
“Renewed contact with the Gospel of faith, of hope and of love invites us to assume a creative and renewed spirit. In this way, we will be able to transform the roots of our physical, spiritual and social infirmities and the destructive practices that separate us from each other, threatening the human family and our planet.”

Monday, November 30
“As a human family we have our common origin in God; we live in a common home, the garden-planet, the earth where God placed us; and we have a common destination in Christ.”

Tuesday, December 1
“We need to be united in facing all those pandemics that are spreading: that of the virus, but also those of hunger, war, contempt for life and indifference to others. Only by walking together will we be able to go far.”

 Wednesday, December 2
“Within the Christian tradition, faith, hope and charity are much more than feelings or attitudes. They are virtues infused in us through the grace of the Holy Spirit; gifts that heal us and that make us healers, gifts that open us to new horizons, even while we are navigating the difficult waters of our time.”

Thursday, December 3
“The pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable and interconnected everyone is. If we do not take care of one another, starting with the least, with those who are most impacted, including creation, we cannot heal the world.”

Friday, December 4
“The harmony created by God asks that we look at others, the needs of others, the problems of others, in communion. We want to recognize the human dignity in every person, whatever his or her race, language or condition might be. Harmony leads you to recognize human dignity, that harmony created by God, with humanity at the center.”

Saturday, December 5
Looking at our brother and sister and the whole of creation as a gift received from the love of the Father inspires attentive behavior, care and wonder.

Sunday, December 6
“The virus, while it does not distinguish between people, has found, in its devastating path, great inequalities and discrimination. And it has exacerbated them!”

Monday, December 7
“Faith, hope and love necessarily push us towards those most in need which goes beyond necessary assistance. Indeed, it implies walking together, letting ourselves be evangelized by them, who know the suffering Christ well, letting ourselves be “infected” by their experience of salvation, by their wisdom and by their creativity.”

Tuesday, December 8
“Sharing with the poor means mutual enrichment. And, if there are unhealthy social structures that prevent them from dreaming of the future, we must work together to heal them, to change them.”

Wednesday, December 9
“Social inequality and environmental degradation go together and have the same root: the sin of wanting to possess and wanting to dominate one’s brothers and sisters, of wanting to possess and dominate nature and God. But this is not the design for creation.”

Thursday, December 10
“In the face of the pandemic and its social consequences, many risk losing hope. In this time of uncertainty and anguish. I invite everyone to welcome the gift of hope that comes from Christ.”

Friday, December 11
“It is Christ who helps us navigate the tumultuous waters of sickness, death and injustice, which do not have the last word over our final destination.”

Saturday, December 12
“These symptoms of inequality reveal a social illness; it is a virus that comes from a sick economy. And we must say it simply: the economy is sick. It has become ill. It is sick. It is the fruit of unequal economic growth—this is the illness: the fruit of unequal economic growth— that disregards fundamental human values.”

Sunday, December 13
“The current pandemic has highlighted our interdependence: we are all connected to each other, for better or for worse. Therefore, to emerge from this crisis better than before, we have to do so together.

 Monday, December 14
“Do we want to be heard? Let us first listen. Do we need encouragement? Let us give encouragement.”  “Do we want someone to care for us? Let us care for those who are alone and abandoned. Do we need hope for tomorrow? Let us give hope today.”

Tuesday, December 15
“…But when we forget all this (the harmony God calls us to), our interdependence becomes dependence of some on others — we lose this harmony of interdependence and solidarity — increasing inequality and marginalization; the social fabric is weakened and the environment deteriorates.”

Wednesday, December 16
“The big wide world is none other than a global village, because everything is interconnected, but we do not always transform this interdependence into solidarity. There is a long journey between interdependence and solidarity. The selfishness — of individuals, nations and of groups with power — and ideological rigidities instead sustain ‘structures of sin.”

Thursday, December 17
“In the midst of crises, a solidarity guided by faith enables us to translate the love of God in our globalized culture, not by building towers or walls — and how many walls are being built today! — that divide, but then collapse, but by interweaving communities and sustaining processes of growth that are truly human and solid.”

Friday, December 18
“How I desire that we Christians be more deeply united as witnesses of mercy for the human family so severely tested in these days. Let’s ask the Spirit for the gift of unity, for only if we live as brothers & sisters can we spread the spirit of fraternity.” 

Saturday, December 19
“May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family!”

Sunday, December 20
“We are called to live not as one without others, above or against others, but with and for others.”

Monday, December 21
“Hope opens new horizons, making us capable of dreaming what is not even imaginable.” 

Tuesday, December 22
“To speak of hope to those who are desperate, it is essential to share their desperation. To dry the tears from the faces of those who are suffering, it is necessary to join our tears with theirs.”

Wednesday, December 23
“Many people suffer due to the great difficulties they endure. We can help them by accompanying them along an itinerary full of compassion which transforms people’s lives.”

Thursday, December 24
“As people look forward to an end of the pandemic lockdowns, we need a vision rich in humanity; we cannot start up again by going back to our selfish pursuit of success without caring about those who are left behind.”                  

May this be a blessed Christmas for each of you.