Lighting the Advent wreath is one of my favorite traditions. It is a tradition that reminds me to keep the season holy, as a time of preparation and attentiveness to Spirit. Yesterday morning, I awoke my young daughter, Elisa, to join me in lighting the first candle.
There are various practices of the Advent wreath-- different colors and different meanings for each candle, depending on the particular Christian denomination or sect. As a Unitarian Universalist of Catholic roots, I choose new colors for candles within a traditional wreath- blending the old with the new. Traditionally, Catholic wreaths include three purple, one pink, and one white candle in the center. My candles are three red and one green. I also have a white candle in the center- a symbol of the one spirit which joins the many paths.
Yesterday, as I lit the candle, I also read a Bible reading from Isaiah. My sleepy daughter listened, perking up in attention, then snuggled closer to me, as I read these words, from Isaiah 49:15-16:
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me."
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me."
Although she may not have understood another word I read, these words she knew. The God image for my daughter at 6 years old is one of maternal love.
As we light our first morning candle together, I offer prayers of hope that this love will remain, secure and lasting between us, and as a presence that glows as light within my family.
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