Invite the Holy Family into your trials during the second week of Advent
A few years back, Courtney Rockamann’s father was dying of cancer. Her family had brought him home on hospice so he could be with his loved ones as he neared death.
Rockamann and her family sat vigil for days, welcoming in relatives and friends who wanted to be near him. There was a lot to manage; she was helping to care for her father while still working full-time and attending to other responsibilities, and exhaustion was creeping in.
Through those hard days, she prayed a constant prayer: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, meet me here in this moment.”
“We knew what was coming, and I couldn’t control that, but I could anticipate it by inviting the Holy Family into the present moment by just saying, be with me as I endure this suffering, be with me as I endure this next hour,” said Rockamann, the youth minister at St. Anselm Parish in Creve Coeur.
That reminder that she was not alone in her suffering made all the difference, she said.
Advent is a time for the entire Church to grow in endurance as we await the coming of Jesus on Christmas and, ultimately, at the second coming.
“Even if this Advent season is one of joy and you don’t have major sufferings in your life, it’s still probably exhausting. There’s much to do, much that’s expected of you, things you have to take care of for the impending season,” Rockamann said. “So just an invitation that in your days, in these weeks of Advent, that you would invite the Holy Family, that Jesus, Mary and Joseph could meet you at any given moment to remind you of your eventual end, of where we’re all headed, and that they would help you in giving you the endurance to make it through that moment and that day.”
Growing in endurance
If you want to grow in endurance, begin with the end in mind, Rockamann said. “Endurance means there’s going to be times of exhaustion and times of imperfection along the way. It’s not a sprint; there’s some pacing to be done,” she said. “So give yourself some credit because you’ve come from somewhere and you’re headed somewhere, so enjoy and grow along the journey as much as you can.”
Advent: On the Way with the Archdiocese of St. Louis
Watch a video of Courtney Rockamann’s Advent reflection on endurance at stlreview.com/4rB3wlu
The Archdiocese of St. Louis will be sharing video reflections and more throughout the four weeks of Advent. To watch the videos, follow the Archdiocese of St. Louis on social media:
Facebook: Archdiocese of St. Louis
Instagram: @arch_stl
Read the St. Louis Review’s Advent stories at stlouisreview.com/topic/advent.
