Posted August 6, 2009 Book: The Gift of Hope: Advent and Christmas Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition Editor: Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C. Ave Maria Press. Notre Dame, IN. 2009 An Excerpt from the book: Following on The Cross, Our Only Hope, and The Gift of the Cross, this accessible Advent resource offers a scripture verse and brief reflection for each day of Advent and the Christmas season and makes an affordable introduction to the themes of the Holy Cross spiritual tradition. This resource is ideal for use in parishes and schools during the Advent and Christmas season and can be used perennially. An Excerpt from the book: Thursday, Week Two For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13 Waiting can be filled both with anticipation and, at times, with fear. A young man in my parish once told me that after he had crossed the border into Arizona, his “coyote” — a person who charges several thousand dollars to bring people across the border without papers — told him that the job he thought he had was not there. With no job and no money, the young man knew he could be either sent back or killed. He was flat-out scared as he waited in a swelteringly hot shack in the Arizona desert. After an excruciating four days, his coyote told him that another family member had called with a job in Florida. As we wait with anticipation this Advent for the coming of our Savior, we must remember our many brothers and sisters, like that young man, who wait and live with fear. Each day the millions of poor in our country and in our world desperately look for work and for food just to survive. It is a humiliating and frightening existence. It is an existence that challenges the rest of us to face and overcome our fears of getting involved with the poor and the marginalized, of reaching our hands out to them and saying together with the Lord, “Do not fear; I will help you.” Table of Contents: The weeks of Advent and Christmas Day