Holy Mary, teach us to wait

Holy Mary, Virgin of waiting, give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out. See: our supplies are gone. Do not send us to other merchants.

Rekindle in our souls the old ardor that burned inside of us, when it took so little to make us jump for joy: the arrival of a friend from afar, the red glow of the sky after the storm, the crackling fire that welcomed us home in winter, the sound of the bells ringing on feast days, the arrival of the swallows in spring, the tender and mysterious roundness of the mother's womb, or the scent of lavender that pervaded a room when a cradle was prepared. If today we no longer know how to wait, it is because we have run out of hope. Its sources have dried up.

We suffer from a deep crisis of desire. And, feeling satisfied with the thousand substitutes that beset us, we risk to no longer expect anything, not even those supernatural promises that were signed with the Blood of the God of the Covenant. (...)

Holy Mary, Virgin of expectation, give us a watchful soul. Having arrived at the threshold of the third millennium, we unfortunately feel like sons of the twilight rather than prophets of Advent. Morning sentinel, awaken in our hearts the passion for bringing fresh news to a world that already feels old. (...) In the face of the changes that are shaking history, let us feel on our skin the thrill of new beginnings. Make us understand that it is not enough to welcome someone: we must learn to wait for Him. Welcoming can sometimes be a sign of resignation, but waiting is always a sign of hope.

Make us therefore ministers of waiting. When the Lord comes, O Virgin of Advent, may he catch us, through your maternal complicity, with the lamp in our hands.

Bishop Tonino Bello (1)

(1) Don Tonino Bello (1935-1993), Italian Catholic prelate, was bishop of Ruvo di Puglia from 1982 to 1986, then bishop of Molfetta from 1986 to his death.