What are you waiting for? Advent is our season of waiting. It is my favourite season too. This Advent 2015 I thought about all of the waiting that has taken place in my lifetime.

When I was a young child I could hardly wait for so many things: Christmas... birthdays... school events... vacations... The waiting was exciting but excruciating too. Most of all I was waiting to be older: old enough to stay up late, old enough to drive a car, old enough to go on to the next level of education, old enough to fall in love, marry and have a family. If only I knew then what I do now, perhaps I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry, or would I?
My younger adult self still spent so much time waiting. My husband and I waited for our wedding day, for the birth of our children, for every special event that seemed far on the horizon, or so tantalizingly just beyond reach.

Now in the later years the waiting continues but the pace has slowed. As a girl or a young woman I couldn’t imagine being as old as I am now. Times and dates that were so far in the future have come and gone. And still I wait.

One of the blessings of maturity is that it is easier for me to be patient. Waiting is like sitting with an old friend. Waiting becomes prayer and prayer becomes part of the wait.

What are we Vincentians waiting for? Depending on how it is spoken, the question can be an expression of mild interest or of genuine concern. It can also be a challenge. ‘Why am I just sitting here? What am I waiting for?’

I need to get up and get going. At the Eucharistic celebration the words are spoken: We wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Lord... Our Vincentian motto, Serviens in spe translates to We serve in hope. There is so much to do and not all that much time to get the job done. There are people who need me; people who are hungry and scared and alone. As a Vincentian I can bring them hope along with groceries while they give me hope for my own salvation.

Enjoy the remaining days of Advent, my fellow Vincentians, and have a blessed Christmas.

Submitted by
Denise Bondy, Chair
ONRC Spirituality Committee