December: The Slow Arrival of Light
December draws its breath in darkness. The days shorten, mornings begin in shadow, and by late afternoon the light has already slipped away. Yet within this deepening night, the Church begins its year with Advent: not with celebration, but with longing. Advent teaches us to wait, to watch, to believe that light is coming even when we can't yet see it.
This season is not about hurried perfection. It is about quiet preparation, like Mary carrying a hidden Christ, like a candle lit before dawn. We are asked to make room: not in our calendars or cupboards, but in our hearts.
Christmas will come in its time: not as noise and brilliance, but as a child born in the dark, in a forgotten place, to a world that barely noticed. December reminds us that God often arrives this way: quietly, vulnerably, at the edge of things.
From the Earth
The land lies bare. Trees stand skeletal against pale skies, mist gathers in hollows, and hard frost rims the fields in silver. Animals grow thick winter coats. Robins appear more often on fences and frosted walls, bright-chested against the cold.
There are few signs of growth above ground, but underground, bulbs brace themselves for spring, roots deepen, and the soil holds its breath. In the stillness of winter, the earth keeps a kind of Advent, too.
Those Who Went Before
St Lucy of Syracuse (Feast Day: 13th December)
St Lucy of Syracuse lived in the early 4th century and is remembered as a young woman of fierce faith and compassion. Her name means light, and her feast falls at the darkest point of the year. In Scandinavian tradition, girls wear white dresses and crowns of candles on St Lucy’s Day, carrying bread and light into dark homes before sunrise.
Legend says Lucy brought food to persecuted Christians hiding in the catacombs. To keep her hands free, she wore a wreath of candles on her head. Whether or not this is true, Lucy has become a symbol of light that serves, light that gives, light that walks into dark places and does not despair.
A Prayer in Action
Create a small space of light in your home: a single candle, lantern, or string of simple lights. Each evening this month, before other lights are turned on, sit in the near-dark and light it.
Pray quietly:
“Light of Christ, be born in the hidden places of my life.”
Stay with the light for a few moments. Let it be enough.
“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
