The waiting during Advent is over and Christmas has been celebrated. This year has been unique from other years. For a multitude of reasons the anticipation of the season was different.  Our oldest daughter is away studying abroad and was not home for the Holiday. Our youngest graduated and living on her own and starting her own holiday traditions. A good friend of 30 years was awaiting her death and passed at the beginning of Advent. Another friend of 35 years passed away suddenly two weeks before Christmas. I experienced a more reflective solitude over the last few weeks. For me the change in the usual anticipation I’ve experienced in the past has been quite different than Anna’s in today’s Gospel.

The passage in today’s Gospel retells the story of decades of waiting by the prophetess Anna. These verses from the Gospel of Luke have always intrigued me. If I put myself in Anna’s position as a patient servant of God awaiting the Messiah, I would not fare well. I’ve become too conditioned by the society’s standards. I expect immediate answers to any questions I might have and quick gratification to my everyday needs: from 24 news and information service to overnight package deliveries to microwaveable food. However, God does not work that way. My faith walk demands my patience and attention. Just like Anna, daily spiritual activity is integral to my journey. The first reading from the first letter of John reminds me to not dwell too much on “things of the world.” My internal thirst “to know the Father” can only be relieved by the “love of the father” dwelling in me. I’ve accepted that the spiritual walk is a life long journey filled with ups and downs. Today there is one thing that I’m assured of: The Messiah has come.