Advent the season of the seed

Here is a beautiful meditation from the Book “The Reed of God” by Caryll Houselander.

ADVENT is the season of the seed: Christ loved this symbolof the seed. 

  The seed, He said, is the Word of God sown in the human heart. 

  "The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed."

  "So is the Kingdom of God as if a man should cast seedinto the earth."   Even his own life-blood: "Unless the grain of wheatfalling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone."

  The Advent, the seed of the world's life, was hidden in OurLady. 

Like the wheat seed in the earth, the seed of the Bread of Life was inher.

   Like the golden harvest in the darkness of the earth, theGlory of God was shrined in her darkness. 

     Advent is the season of the secret,the secret of the growth of Christ, of Divine Love growing in silence. 

    It isthe season of humility, silence, and growth. 

    For nine months Christ grew in HisMother's body. By His own will she formed Him from herself, from the simplicityof her daily life. 

  She had nothing to give Him but herself. 

  He asked fornothing else. 

  She gave Him herself.

  Working, eating, sleeping, she was forming His body fromhers. His flesh and blood. From her humanity she gave Him His humanity.

   Walkingin the streets of Nazareth to do her shopping, to visit her friends, she setHis feet on the path of Jerusalem.

   Washing, weaving, kneading, sweeping, herhands prepared His hands for the nails.

   Every beat of her heart gave Him Hisheart to love with, His heart to be broken by love

.   All her experience of theworld about her was gathered to Christ growing in her.

   Looking upon theflowers, she gave Him human sight. Talking with her neighbours, she gave Him ahuman voice. The voice we still hear in the silence of souls saying : "Considerthe lilies of the field." 

  Sleeping in her still room, she gave Him thesleep of the child in the cradle, the sleep of the young man rocked in thestorm-tossed boat. 

  Breaking and eating the bread, drinking the wine of thecountry, she gave Him His flesh and blood; she prepared the Host for the Mass. 

  This time of Advent is absolutely essential to our contemplation too. 

  If wehave truly given our humanity to be changed into Christ, it is essential to usthat we do not disturb this time of growth. 

  It is a time of darkness, of faith.We shall not see Christ's radiance in our lives yet; it is still hidden in ourdarkness; nevertheless, we must believe that He is growing in our lives; wemust believe it so firmly that we cannot help relating everything, literallyeverything, to this almost incredible reality. 

  This attitude it is which makesevery moment of every day and night a prayer. 

  In itself it is a purification,but without the tense resolution and anxiety of self-conscious aim. 

  How couldit be possible that anyone who was conscious that Christ desired to see theworld with his eyes would look willingly on anything evil ? Or knowing that Hewished to work with his hands, do any work that was shoddy, any work that wasnot as near perfection as human nature can achieve? 

  Who, knowing that his earsmust listen for Christ, could listen to blasphemy or to the dreary dirtiness ofso much of our conversation, or could fail to listen to the voice of a worldlike ours with compassion? 

  Above all, who, knowing that Christ asked for hisheart to love with, for his heart to bear the burden of the love of God, couldfail to discover that in every pulsation of his own life there is prayer?

Advent the season of the seed 

(Inspired from the Book“The Reed of God” by Caryll Houselander)

(Advent the season of the seed:

Hidden in the Blessed Mother

The seed of the world's life,

Like the wheat seed in the earth,

In her was the seed of the Bread of Life)

Mary walked the streets of Nazareth

Grew In her, His feet so tiny,

One day will walk to the Calvary,

To be nailed to the cross

With her hands, she swept, baked, and cooked

Grew in her, His hands so tiny,

One day will carry the wood to Calvary,

To be nailed to the cross

Every beat of her heart

gave Him His heart to love with

Love Eternal, Love Divine,

Heart of her Son pierced on the cross

for sins of mine

She gave Him her life,

Held His hands as He learned to walk

He moved His feet, step by step

Ever closer to the cross

Her Creator

becomes her Son,

Her King, her Saviour,

Also, yours and mine

She taught Him how to talk

Of the seven last words He spoke

Now crowned with thorns

He says to her from the cross

Woman:

'Behold thy son'

And then to the apostle John

and also to us

'Behold thy mother'

Blessed Mother

You nursed Him

Who nourishes us with the Bread of Life

Pray, that we may

Give Him our lives like you

To love, like He loved

In all we do

This Advent

the seed may grow in us too