Advent Blues Light A Candle In The Darkness

"Incarnation is incredibly important for elevating the value of being a particular person in a particular place:

Jesus prevents us from thinking that life is a matter of ideas to ponder or concepts to discuss. Jesus saves us from wasting our lives in pursuit of cheap thrills and trivializing diversions.

Jesus enables us to take seriously who we are and where we are without being seduced by intimidating lies and delusions that fill the air, so that we needn’t be someone else or somewhere else .........

"Jesus keeps our feet on the ground, attentive to children, in conversation with ordinary people, sharing meals with friends and strangers, listening to the wind, observing the wildflowers, touching the sick and wounded, praying simply and unselfconsciously.

Jesus insists that we deal with God right here and now, in the place where we find ourselves and with the people we are with. Jesus is God here and now ...."

"Part of our job is to help people understand how many of the simple practices of their daily lives are caught up in the narrative of God’s mission to reclaim the world.

Maybe this year, as we prepare to remember God’s Incarnate Son, we can cling to the Christ-practices of the here and now.

Maybe we can embody the way Christ’s Incarnation shows us a faith that is earthy and real as we become more and more like the One who came and is to come."

 Above taken from here

This  all sounds fine and dinky but in the same vein of keeping it real and meeting people where they are, I really like this ... It's called Holiday Hump Prayer

It's a timely reminder that although for some, Christmas may be the best of times, for many it is also the worst of times and can be a hard slog , filled with stress and anxiety. 

Combined with Nature's darkest days and evenings,some people find the forced jollity of December hard to cope with, and don't find Christmas a season of "good cheer, not least for the bereaved.

For many people, all the forced merriness and excitement going on around them only exacerbates and sharpens any feelings of existing sadness that may be associated with loss of any kind and grief.


People can experience grief more acutely during the Christmas season, because the celebratory traditions and expectations they have developed for this time, strongly remind them of loved ones they’ve lost.

Prayer 

"Father, as we approach another holiday season, I come to you with gratitude for the many blessings that You have graced my life with.

I have often taken them for granted, and at times, scorned them. But they are many and I am grateful because they have come from You.

But I also remember today those who find the holiday’s anything but gratifying.

And I lift to You those who will go through the rest of this year and into the beginning of next year with sadness, grief, and anger.

Some are going through this holiday season because someone dear to them, a spouse, a sibling, a parent, and close friend died and the holidays will remind them of their absence.

Others will go through this holiday with sadness because life has changed so much for them that nothing is the same and no one understands that.

But You do.

And still others will face the holidays with anger because of terrible conflicts.

For all of these who will face the holidays this way, I ask that You will walk with them no matter how deep the grief, or how profound the sadness, or how powerful the anger is. 

Love them deeply and place in their path people who listen long, speak well, and take their time.

You know and understand our pain during the holidays. So grace them, and us, with Your loving and merciful presence.

Bring hope and healing. Bring love and faith.

Bring Yourself, and all of Your glory, into their, and into our, hearts and souls."

Amen

Some churches arrange special services to give time to comfort those who have experienced a loss. 

This 2010 article from The Chicago tribune explains how the need for Blue Christmas services came about.









I haven't heard of any Catholic services like this in the UK and I wonder if people feel there is a need for them.

 This article is worth a read- it's not religious but it is well written and makes good sense that even without Christmas, for some people it will still be a depressing time of year !

So what music could throw some much needed light into the gloom ?
How about  Light A Candle by Neil Young ?........... Did I hear a groan ?

 Lyrics

 Instead of cursing the darkness,
Light a candle for where we're going,
There's something ahead, worth looking for.

When the light of time is on us,
You will see our moment come,
And the living soul inside will carry on.

It's a chance to give new meaning to every move we make,  
Through the caverns, in the caves, where we come from.

When the light of dawn is on us,
We will see what we can be,
And the ancient ones can sleep an easy sleep

In the hallways of the ages, on the road to history,
What we do now will always be with us.

It's a chance to give new meaning to every move we make,
In the caverns, in the caves, where we come from.

Instead of cursing the darkness,
Light a candle for where we're going,
There's something ahead, worth looking for.

When the light of time is on us,
We will see our moment come,
And the living soul inside will carry on.

Light a candle in the darkness,
So others might see ahead,
Light a candle in the darkness, when you go.

Light a candle in the darkness,
So others might see ahead,
Light a candle in the darkness, when you go.