Advent Prayer for December 18

A Clear Light

Hildegard of Bingen (12^th century)

 

The Word made flesh for us gives us the greatest hope
that the murky night of darkness will not overwhelm us,
but we shall see the daylight of eternity.

Lord, let us receive your clear light; be for us such a mirror of light
that we may be given grace to see you unendingly.

If we are overcome, you have the power to forgive us;
Therefore, in my sin I call on you, my Lord, my Light, for help.
For you were sent into the world to enlighten my heart,
to nurture true repentance and to make the Holy Spirit’s
work grow more powerfully in me.

With the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign forever!

 

            Have you ever been overwhelmed by the murky night of darkness?  Gloomy, misty, cloudy, muddy, dim, overshadowed?  There is a darkness of night that is glorious, when the sky is clear, the stars are brilliant, and the moon shines as a crescent of light and hope.  But then there are the murky nights, when the air is as heavy as our hearts, and clouds cover any hope of illumination. 

            The incarnation, Hildegard claims, brings a clear, true light that calls us to action – to call upon God in the midst of the murkiness, to look into our hearts with a sense of enlightenment that comes through the Spirit of God, and to nurture true repentance, not just one of confession but one of a turning from sin, a new path, a clean heart.  We no longer can be content with the funhouse mirror that distorts our likeness – no, we long for the mirror of light that will allow us to see clearly and respond in faith.

 

Prayer Focus:  enlightened hearts