Christmas Eve and last Sunday of Advent

Tonight is Christmas Eve, and the last Sunday of Advent. Advent is nearly over, and Christmas is upon us. Today I will tie together some loose ends (finish one gift, final wrapping, bake bread), and settle into the grace and mystery of Christmas.

What is the grace of Christmas? It's an experiential thing. We don't need faith that the sun will rise because we have experienced it. Even in the darkest of times, this season of Light and Love will deliver its grace.

This is a good day to take a deep breath and go back to the source, back to the Spirit that brings me to this place of light and grace; back to living in Spirit, being Spirit. I remember then that happiness comes in calm simplicity, and awareness in the moment. I experience Spirit through my breath, and with each sensation, sight, sound, smell, and taste. I only need to be fully awake to the ordinary miracle of Being, and keep my focus on the Spirit of Love that guides me.

Agenda Today:

1. Read a novena

2. Plan ways to give attention to God

3. Inner Guide trance

4. Make Danish Prune Bread

5. Advent wreath ceremony

1. Read a novena:

I've been reading this Creation Novena from the Indian Catholic Matters site, and today is the last:

Day 9: A Prayer of Thanks for the Creator

Creator God, we give thanks for You—for your coming among us, and among all that you have created.

Thank You for the magnanimous gift of creation itself, which heralded the birth of Your Son, and to which You joined in the water, minerals, and living flesh of Jesus Christ. Thank You for every aspect of creation, as every bit of its goodness and order reveals You.

Thank You for the love that You manifest in creation. Pope Francis has said that “creation is of the order of love.” We thank You for the gift of Your love beyond measure, and we thank You for bestowing on us the gift to love in return.

Thank You for the sustenance, strength, and peace that Your creation gives us. Thank You for our place within the fabric You have woven. Thank You for the unique gifts bestowed on each of us, and especially for the gifts of resilience and beauty in our poorest sisters and brothers.

We ask that You increase our capacity to love, that You give us the resolve to love in deeds and not simply in words.

We pray this through the newborn Christ, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

2. Plan ways to give attention to God:

This last day of advent my focus is the Guiding Light of God. My image of God is the Creator Spirit of earth and sky, and the Love and Light that lives in all people. I try to live always awake and listening for the message of Love, and always feel a connection to Creation, but I get distracted. I want to have a more effectual connection to God, and so this week I'll practice and improve my mindfulness habits.

Things to do to give attention to the Spirit of God:

• As I wake, I pause to take a slow breath, and center on the Light within. Stay in this gentle meditation as I get dressed and move through my morning.
• Light a candle, and sit every morning for a few minutes of silence, simply feeling a presence of Love.
• Write about my personal spiritual path, how I weave together the threads of my belief, and my spiritual practices.
• Go on an Awareness Walk, and send prayers to my loved ones, all the people of the world, and to the earth.
• Start an Inner Guide trance practice (a couple times a month?), to access new insights.

Seneca said: “You are a fragment of God; ... Will you not bear in mind, whenever you eat, who you are that eat, and whom you are nourishing? ... Whenever you mix in society, whenever you take physical exercise, whenever you converse, do you not know that you are nourishing God, exercising God?”

3. Inner Guide trance:

Today I plan to perform my own interpretation of a Spirit-Guide ceremony, with an intention of receiving a message or a gift or an insight of some kind, from my Inner Guide. As a Quaker, I've got lots of experience in listening to the small, still voice, but this is a different thing: I am going to be directive, and specific.

1. Set the Mood: Light a candle and dim the lights. Turn on some primal drum music very softly. Settle into the peace of the darkness.

2. Craft a Clear Intention: Today I will call on the Spirit of Love to guide me in the New Year, and ask "How can I effectively witness for Unity with the Earth? What can Love do?"

3. Relax, breathe, walk or float: With each breath, allow my awareness to deepen and become softer. No stress. No rush. Walk or float in a void.

4. Go through the Door: When I feel ready, see myself moving through a doorway or opening into another space. Take time to settle here, in the safe, dark, warm, womb.

5. Invite my Inner Guide: Call on the Spirit of Love, and ask my questions. Ask for what I need: A blessing, a message, a leading, and/or healing.

6. Open myself to messages and gifts: I may get a vision, or thoughts, or just a feeling.

7. Give thanks and return: Saying thanks out loud is a how I acknowledge the reality of the gift. Then, turn around and exit the way I came in.

8. Journal: Take a few moments to remember my experience, and write it down in my prayer journal.

4. Make Danish Prune Bread:

Christmas sweet bread is a tradition in most every country. Since I grew up in a Scandinavian-American town, I’m partial to this bread from Denmark. You can easily make the dough and the filling in advance and shape it to bake fresh on Christmas morning.

Ingredients:

• 3/4-c. chilled unsalted butter
• 1-3/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1/4 c. warm water (105-115ºF)
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1/8 c. sugar
• 1/2-c. pitted prunes, packed
• 1/2-c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4-tsp. vanilla
• 1/4-tsp. cinnamon

Yield: 1 loaf-

1- Cut cold butter into chunks; combine with flour, and cut with a pastry blender until the butter is the size of kidney beans.

2- In another large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in the cream, cardamom, salt, eggs, and 1/8 c. sugar. Mix very lightly with a fork.
3- Turn flour and butter mixture into the yeast mixture and mix lightly with a fork or spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 4 days).
4- Filling: Put prunes, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/8 c. of water into a saucepan. Heat and simmer until prunes are soft and plumped, and have absorbed most of the liquid.

5- Puree in a blender, transfer to a bowl and stir in lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

6- You can finish this tonight, or on Christmas morning: Prepare a baking sheet with lightly buttered and floured parchment paper. Take dough out of the refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle. Place on the baking sheet.

7- Spread the prune filling down the length of the center of the dough. Cut strips along both sides with kitchen scissors. Fold strips over the filling in a crisscross manner.

8- Let rise 1 hour or more, just until the pastry appears puffy (it will not double.)

9- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden.

5. Advent wreath ceremony:

Tonight we will light four advent candles, and recite four prayers:

"We light the first candle for the earth, which sustains us. May we cherish and care for it."

"We light the second candle for all the people of the world. May we find unity and peace."

"We light the third candle for our family and the joy and love we bring each other."

"We light the fourth candle for the Spirit of God in each of us, which is our guiding light."