Roses in December

December 12, 2010

Roses in December
The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.- Is 35:1-2

How like the desert is a New England winter! Gone are the colorful autumn leaves, the skies become grayer, the nights longer, and a chill settles over the land. This seems very much like the parched land Isaiah speaks of in today’s first reading. We know the greenery will return and our “desert” will bloom again in the Spring but today we are impatient… we expect roses in December.

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. According to tradition, the Blessed Mother sent a simple farmer, Juan Diego, to ask the bishop to build a church on the site of her appearance. The doubting bishop asked Juan for a sign to confirm the vision. Mary then provided fresh roses from the cold, frozen ground as well as a beautiful image of herself on Juan Diego’s cloak. This is the faith of Advent, a belief that God can work miracles, producing water in the desert, light in the darkness, and roses in December.

Where can you find “roses in December”? Little miracles, or roses, surround us daily if only we open our eyes and heart. We need to look past the dreariness of our New England winter desert and find the beauty within. Picture in your mind a single red rose, or perhaps go to a florist and buy one or more… Take your rose and go outside and drop a petal in the winter snow and offer, for each petal dropped, a personal prayer and a prayer for the world:

Almighty God, we believe in your power to bring order out of chaos, life out of death, and roses out of December snow. Work your miracles of life among us in this season of hope. (Jerry Welte)

After you have dropped your petals, pause for a moment and gaze at the beauty the bright red color against the whiteness of the snow. And think of Christ’s blood, spilled for us against the desert sand. Christ’s blood brings life to our wilderness and Christ’s love brings us “roses in December.”
God Bless, Holly Clark