Catholics are trying to keep Advent as a time for prayer and reflection as we wait for the coming of Christ. We aren’t just worrying about all the decorations or checklists, but we are using this time to pray and reflect on Christ. This Beatitude reminds us that following Christ often means standing firm in our values, even when it’s uncomfortable or unpopular.

In some respects, waiting seems unpalatable.  We are constantly “skipping to the good part.” But waiting gives us time to prepare, to ready our hearts, and to grow in virtue.  It’s not a boring season, but one of anticipation and holy receptivity.  Through waiting well, we cultivate a childlike disposition. 

This Advent, Catholic Women in Business are invited to enter a sacred kind of waiting — one that refines, not rushes. In a world obsessed with productivity and profit, God calls us instead to prepare our hearts with mercy and mindfulness.

In his newest book, “Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes,” Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, invites us to see the Beatitudes not as distant ideals or abstract teachings but as living promises.

This Advent, we are reflecting on the Beatitudes. The third Beatitude is, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.” (Matthew 5:5).  Meekness is the ability to moderate anger according to right reason. What land is the land we will inherit? Heaven.

Christmas was my father’s absolute favorite holiday. So when he was diagnosed with terminal glioblastoma (brain cancer) in July 2018, we all hoped to have at least one more Christmas.