Saturday I performed my ritual of changing my breviary from Vol lV to Vol 1 – the Advent and Christmas season. It is a ritual because I transfer all my little prayer cards and frequently used readings inserts. I have to reset my ribbons and somehow the colors do not match up from one book to another. Page 1252 will not be the Marian antiphons for Night Prayer – as I had gotten used to in Vol IV. I pull my blue Vol I book from the shelf and flip through the pages. Suddenly I see something I thought I’d lost – my insert with the Invititory Psalm, Morning, and Evening prayer Canticles is hiding in my Franciscan supplement. It has been missing since – well – since January. I had looked through that book several times before looking for this insert. Some things are just found in their own time I suppose. My rythym is interrupted. I spent extra time getting comfortable in the new book – finding Evening Prayer 1 of the 1st Sunday of Advent.
The readings don’t waste anytime shifting gears in the liturgical calendar. The antiphons are dripp
ing with the anticipation of the coming Christ child. The Lord is coming – the Lord is coming – see the Lord coming from afar. I intend to do a better job with Advent this year. My wreath is ready – I have reflections and prayers. I am taking it slow.
