Feel it, savor it

We run from one experience to another; we look for different adventures because we never stop to just savor what we have, the present moment.
Time is not only chronos, that is, a sequence; time is also kairos, a deep immersion in order to discover the various layers of the same experience.
This is what Advent offers us - a deeper immersion into whatever it is we are experiencing at the moment, and discover the Faithful Presence that gently leads us.

Give to those who cannot repay

My giving should not be a weight or a burden to the other person. The act of giving, itself, is its own reward, a source of true happiness.

Doing a good turn

To be good, it must be the right thing done at the right time and place and with the right motivation.

Give to God

When God asks something from us, it may cost, but we find a lasting peace that no one can ever take away from us.

Quiet and unassuming

The Kingdom of God is God's presence, a quiet, unassuming presence that first of all transforms the heart. Only hearts filled with God can transform structures. Any transformation that starts from the outside is bound to fail.

Adopted

I am a natural-born child, so I don't know how an adopted child feels about his/her situation.
I remember a film I once saw where the mother told her adopted daughter: "You may not have come from my womb, but you were born in my heart."
To be adopted is to be chosen to be a part of something; to be chosen to have a connection with someone. It is not by chance. It is a choice by someone.
I am God's adopted child. God made a choice to call me His daughter. Will I really ever truly understand what this means? Will I ever fully act accordingly?

Jesus lights a fire

Fire transforms. From raw to cooked. Gold is purified. Material things turn to ashes.
Contact with fire is never indifferent.
So it is with our relationship with Jesus. If it is true and authentic, we cannot be the same person anymore.