Advent 2021

 

Advent Reflections: Dec 9th

400x400 advent artA few weeks ago, I had a dream about Fr. Bob. I was sitting with his casket in the Meditation Room, just as I had done during the final hour of his wake. But in my dream, his casket was empty, and then he appeared, sitting in the chair beside me, alive and full of life, asking about what was going on at the Golden Center, and how I was doing. We sat together and talked, just like old times.

Sometimes it is easy to forget that a dream is a place of stillness, a place of rest, a place where God can come to us, and help us grapple with grief, struggles, and pain. One of my professors at Yale Divinity School told her students that biblical prophets viewed dreams as a venue through which God can communicate with a soul in stillness.

In my dream about Fr. Bob, God helped me realize that I need to shift my view of him. Up until that point, I had been focusing on that fact that Fr. Bob was dead and not coming back. After my dream, I realized that while Fr. Bob is no longer physically here, my Christian faith reminds me that he is alive with God, enjoying the Beatific vision, and praying for each of us.

“Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever…” These are the words the prophet Baruch told his people in mourning, his people in need of hope. These are the words I can almost hear Fr. Bob telling me, “Carlene, take off your robe of mourning and misery and believe in the glory of God’s promises.”

During this Advent season, may God come to us in the stillness of quiet prayer and dreams, reminding us to look towards the future with hope and faith in the gift of salvation.

Carlene Demiany '12 M.Div. '14 S.T.M.

Carlene Demiany '12 M.Div. '14 S.T.M.

Carlene is an Assistant Chaplain at STM.