a spiritual exercise for advent

Instructions: Read the seven questions below slowly, without trying to answer them. Then read and memorize Isaiah 9. 2: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light". Spend five minutes in silence--if you begin to become distracted, come back to Isaiah 9. 2. Answer the seven questions, personally and honestly. Where there are successes, give thanks. Where there are failures, ask for forgiveness. Don't dwell on the failures. Read John 1. 5: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it". Conclude by saying the Lord's Prayer.

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1. Do I sense a need in my own life for spiritual growth? Am I receptive to an emerging and enlarged conviction that God wants to enter my own life?

2. Do I locate myself in continuity with those who have awaited the coming of God's kingdom and have looked toward the fulfillment of God's promises?

3. Do I sense an emptiness during the season preceding Christmas?

4. Have I tried to fill a spiritual vacuum with material desires?

5. How does God seem more real to me in this season, more like

an in-the-flesh reality and less like an idea or a concept?

6. What specific gift do I need to receive from God?

7. How can I prepare myself spiritually to receive a gift from God?