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Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Readings of the Day 
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"The Lord comes that we might find him in this world of ours." Laudato
Si' #236

Today we hear the first words from Zachariah after nine months of
muted silence. I can't help but chuckle a little at the thought
of a father-to-be being silenced throughout the pregnancy, almost as
if to say, "It's not about you!" And, as we know,
this story is not about Zachariah the priest. This story centers
God's compassion, mercy, justice, and love.

Zachariah's forced silence not only de-centers him in the story,
but it also provides space for other voices to be centered. Earlier in
Luke we hear from pregnant Elizabeth and Mary who together share
powerful words about the possible-ness of God's inbreaking
kingdom of justice, freedom, and peace. The center of God's
story, and ours, is love incarnate - born of the womb of a young
woman on the margins of the Roman Empire.

Across this country, Catholic Charities provides space and services
that respond to the God-of-the-margins, centering those experiencing
poverty, those ignored by the societal systems that perpetuate
injustice, the people perhaps closest to God-incarnate.

In my work and ministry, how do I shut up and center God's love?
How am I centering the experiences of those on the margins of our
society? How can I better listen, learn, prepare, wait, and make space
for the prophetic voices and experiences of my neighbors?

Just as Zachariah had the silence of muteness to accept God's
loving plan, may this Advent and continued season of Christmas be a
time in which I might watch, listen, and help birth God's loving
plan.

Kelly Hickman serves as the Database Manager at Catholic Climate
Covenant and as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at the
Ignatian Spirituality Center. She is active in several parishes in the
Archdiocese of Seattle, serving as co-leader of the Seattle Chapter
for Catholic Relief Services (the international sister agency of
CCUSA) and as Spiritual Advisor to her St. Vincent de Paul Conference.




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