Anti-Racism Team Advent Reflection 2025
December 12, 2025
“O Come Emmanuel”
How often, during this sacred Advent time, do we sing, pray and utter these words? What meaning do they have for us in 2025 that is different from all past Advents? Are they merely a liturgical re-run every December, or are they new and challenging words that take on a new meaning as we grow in age, wisdom and grace?
Emmanuel comes from many sources: From within and from outside of us. Do we have Advent courage to face what has hardened in us?
- Broken relationships that have fragmented our lives?
- Judgments against one another that we will not let go of?
- Traumas that we cling to because forgiveness is too difficult?
- Our sense of superiority that we hold on to because we like feeling special?
Are we willing to look deep within, face the truth of who we are and allow Emmanuel to surface and liberate us from within?
Emmanuel comes from outside of us as well:
Sister Anne-Louise Nadeau
- Do we thank the stranger who holds the door for us?
- Do we greet the cashier in the supermarket who would light up if we said hello and spoke her/his name written on their printed tag?
- Do we wave a “thanks” to those who pick up the trash or drive the recycling trucks?
Do we really see the beauty of racial and ethnic cultures, or do we allow fear and avoidance to surface or worse, invisibility?
- How open and transparent are we in the decisions we make, both as individuals and as a Community/Congregation?
Emmanuel awaits us. What are we waiting for?
—Submitted by Sister Anne-Louise Nadeau, SNDdeN for the U.S./SNDdeN Anti-Racism Team
