Advent Letter, 2024

Dear Sisters and Associates,

At the CLB Meeting in October in Korea there was a discussion and a hope that, along with the monthly CDP Environment Day and Eco Challenges provided by the Laudato Si Commission, there could be something else that we might do as a whole Congregation together. Sr. Michele Bisbey told the CLB Members about what she was planning for the Marie de la Roche Province during the Advent season and she graciously offered to share it with the whole Congregation.

Thus, we would all be spending time on the same texts during the Advent season.

I am happy to announce to you that the four-week Advent series will

John the Baptist: Joy on the Periphery, Widening the Circle of Friends

Here is an Introduction to the Series by Sister Michele accompanied by the titles of each week’s presentation.

Jesus, who is Providence Incarnate, has called us “friends.” Our international congregation of Divine Providence, which includes vowed members, associates, Providence Partners, Providence Companions, Circle of Friends, and the family of Providence is becoming an intercultural “Circle of Friends.” This Advent season we will join together in prayer and reflection through the lens of John the Baptist, the Advent prophet of joy. May our Circle widen to accompany and embrace those, like John, who exist on the margins, the periphery. A different aspect of John’s spirituality and ministry will be explored each week.

The titles are:     

         December 1: Leaping for Joy

         December 8: Prepare the Way/Baptizing on Jordan’s banks

         December 15: What did you go to the desert to see?

         December 22: He must increase, I must decrease

Suggestions for prayer and reflection will be translated into our four languages and posted on our congregational website. Additional insights

will be shared with the Provincials and Mission Director to distribute, as is appropriate for each area.

When I think of Advent joy, I am reminded of the phrase from Nehemiah 8:10: “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” I believe this is a call to find our confidence, hope, and courage in the Lord. When we truly and fully trust in our Provident God and rely on God’s promises, our hearts are filled with

joy…and that joy becomes the anchor of our strength. This kind of joy is a deep, abiding joy that comes from knowing that we are loved, forgiven, and empowered by God. It can bring us a resilience and endurance among the daily tasks of our ministry and community life. Even as we may face difficulties, overcome obstacles and see the situations in our world as hopeless and counter-cultural to joy, we can cultivate a culture of joy and celebration. We can encourage one another, inspire growth, widen our circle of friends, and strengthen our collective witness to the world.

Perhaps as we look through the eyes of John the Baptist this Advent, we can view life with a spiritual lens, focusing on God’s faithfulness, and realize that our joy is not contingent on what we face but on Who walks beside us. So let us seek God wholeheartedly as we embrace these four weeks together. Let us cultivate gratitude for the blessings given us. Let us surrender our own will to God’s will. Let us serve others with love and compassion which brings joy both to them and to us.

It is my hope that sharing these four weeks of Advent together as one congregation will indeed widen our circle of friends, deepen our Providence spirituality, and help us to feel even more interconnected.

Choose Joy; it’s contagious! Happy Advent!

Sr. Barbara McMullen

Congregational Leader

***  Please, see the attachment for Sr. Michele Bisbey's prayer and reflection.