Advent Reflections
Like Joseph in this Sunday’s Gospel, I was faced with an unexpected change of plans during my sophomore year. After that year’s season of gymnastics, I endured several injuries. I had a hip, back, and ankle injury that restricted me from doing any sort of activity. I was distraught. Gymnastics had not only kept me active but was an outlet from outside problems and stress. Weeks went on while I continued to feel discouraged and scared that my upcoming season was already ruined.
In the Gospel, Joseph is also faced with a shocking and uncertain situation. When he learns of Mary’s pregnancy, his plans for the future are suddenly disrupted. God said to him, “do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” Although it was not what Joseph had planned, he followed God’s word. Joseph could not perceive what his future held, but he walked by God’s sight and not his own. In my own struggle, I felt God calling me to that same trust - to not be afraid. While I could not know when my injuries were going to heal, I could trust that God had already written an end to my story. Reflecting back on this time, I realize God was teaching me patience and resilience. At the moment, I struggled to see how this experience could be beneficial. . Like Joseph, I initially tried to control the situation according to my own plans. But once I opened my heart to God’s presence and guidance, I began to find peace and direction. . It is easy to follow God when our life path seems clear, but in times of uncertainty, Joseph’s faithful obedience reminds us how to trust in the Lord’s plan.
The Gospel begins by stating, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.” Even though the story seems to be about Joseph’s unexpected situation, the true meaning lies in the outcome. Despite Joseph’s righteous intentions, God’s will ultimately prevailed, and through that choice, something far greater unfolded Similarly, when I decided to follow qualities of the Lord, like patience and resilience, I had a fruitful outcome. God took hold of my fear and doubt and brought me strength. Even after missing most of the off-season practice, I recovered and had my best gymnastics season yet.
This Gospel reminds us that God remains close to us, especially in moments of uncertainty and fear. As we enter this final season of Advent, we are invited to listen for God’s voice and trust in His greater plan, just as Joseph did. When we surrender our fears and place our faith in Him, we discover that God has been with us all along.
Alyssah ArendsThird Sunday
In the first part of this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear John the Baptist, someone who dedicated his entire life to preparing the way for the Messiah, sitting in prison and asking an unexpected question: “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?” John had preached with confidence and courage, yet in his suffering and uncertainty, he began to wonder. When Jesus sends John’s disciples back to him, he points out what is happening around him: the blind see, the lame walk, the poor hear good news. It seems to me as if Jesus is saying to them: “Open your eyes and look at all the good things that are being done. Is this not the goodness of God?” I take this Gospel as a challenge to do the same, to open my eyes and look for God in all of the good around me.
I experienced something like this during the final game of my football regular season this year. During that game, I was full of more joy than I could put into words. We came back from being down 14 points to win against another highly ranked team. Sealing the regular season with this win, we finished with a record of 7-2. It felt great to win a big game, but that was not the reason why I was so full of joy. Our season had been shaped by a close bond that shaped our team. Our team had great chemistry and worked together very well. More than that, I felt like I was part of a family on that team. The end of this regular season felt like some fulfillment for all the grueling hard work that everyone on the team had put into becoming the winning team that we knew we could be. When I was celebrating the win that night with my teammates, I thought about two things: how much of a blessing this season was, and what came before it. During my previous season, I broke my hand, and was not able to play for almost the entire season. Sidelined, I had to watch my team struggle and fall to a regular season record of 3-6. That season felt frustrating and disappointing, and at times it was hard to stay hopeful or joyful. Looking back, I see those two seasons as very different moments in my life: one filled with celebration and clarity and the other marked by waiting and loss.
In the Gospel, John the Baptist experiences something similar. From prison, he cannot see clearly anymore, and doubt creeps in. Yet Jesus reminds him, and us, that God is still at work, even when life feels like a losing season. In my own spiritual life, I experience those different seasons too. Sometimes it is harder than others, and it can be a challenge to trust in God’s plan and live joyfully. At the end of that game, it was easy for me to be joyful and to see God in the good around me. However, I know that this Gospel challenges us to keep looking for God’s goodness not only in moments of victory, but also in times of struggle, doubt, and waiting; even during seasons of our spiritual life that feel like a losing season.
Second Sunday
The most important day of my senior year is a day that I’ve been dreading for the past four years, November 1st. The day that I finally clicked submit on seven of my college applications. For so long, I believed that clicking submit on November 1st decided my entire future, that every application answer would determine if or if not I succeed in life. In the weeks leading up to my deadline, I was caught in what felt like my own “desert”, a place of uncertainty, struggle, and discomfort. I felt a very intense fear of failure and that if I didn't get accepted into college, all my hard work throughout high school was for nothing. I felt that my success on these applications controlled my entire future, that my future was in my own hands.
But on November 1st 2025, at 10:00 pm, when I hit submit on my applications, I finally felt a sense of relief, a moment of peace. I was no longer holding everything on a tight grip, I exited my desert. I had my own form of repentance, not because I did anything morally wrong but because for so long I had been living as if everything depended on myself. My future didn’t suddenly become clear, my stress didn’t suddenly fall, and everything didn’t suddenly become easy but there was finally space in my mind for silence. In that silence, I recognized that I’m not actually the one who’s in control, God is. In that moment of peace, my solace was rooted in knowing that God’s plan for my life is bigger than any single deadline, and His love for me isn’t determined by admissions decisions.
God’s peace is a peace that this world cannot give. The world tells me constantly that my worth is based on small accomplishments like admissions decisions. But in this Gospel, I learned that peace is not in my hands, rather it is held in the hands of God. It’s a peace that comes from the realization that the kingdom of heaven truly is at hand, and active in my life.
The peace I felt wasn't from finishing the college application, but from turning my heart back toward God. From doing exactly what this Gospel calls us to do, put our trust in God and allow him to take the things we were never meant to carry alone. I didn’t find peace in the idea that every problem in my life was solved or that everything was going my way; rather, moving forward, I find peace in knowing that I don’t have to face anything alone.
This second week of Advent, I invite you to reflect on the “deserts” in your own life; the places where fear, pressure, or self-reliance have taken hold. And as you do, may you discover the same truth at the heart of this Gospel: peace is not something you achieve, it is Someone you welcome.As I walk down the corridor of our Athletics wing, making my way into the Salvi, I hear the unmistakable sound of dribbling reverberating off the basketball court. I enter the gymnasium to a lively practice, players moving with purpose and intent, and coaches actively engaged with teaching, motivating, and calling for particular plays. “Michigan” is heard, and the five on the court quickly take to their positions, more than ready to skillfully implement the tactic. As I observe our student-athletes, I see their energy, enthusiasm, and eagerness; I see their desire and commitment to prepare well, so that they are prepared for their next game – that next opportunity to compete at the highest level.
In the Olivet discourse, Jesus’s response to questions and concerns about the unknown future on the Mount of Olives, Jesus instructs his disciples to “stay awake”! In other words, be prepared, for you do not know the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come. Indeed, at this juncture in the Gospel narrative according to Matthew, Jesus will soon make his way up Calvary, to the Cross, but not before telling them that he will come again in glory.
Advent is a time of preparation. We prepare by orienting our hearts and minds to the truth that there is an invisible world, and that the Lord promises to come again at the end of time – for he has prepared a place for us, so that where he is, we may also be. We also prepare in this sacred season to celebrate with living faith once more the first coming of Christ, his birth. It is this anniversary that reminds us how close God is to us: and the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14).
Just as our basketball players showed great enthusiasm for the process of preparedness, may we exhibit that same spirit and sentiment this Advent. While preparation is certainly hard work, for sure in the spiritual life, too, let us trust that God-is-with-us, and that win is eternal!