Advent with St. John Henry Newman
Reflections by Fr. Jason Smith, LC
One December morning, I rose early for a run. It was dark and cold. The cheerful Christmas lights strung across porches brought no warmth. I turned around and drank a hot cup of coffee instead.
St. John Henry Newman writes: “The year is worn out: spring, summer, autumn, each in turn, have brought their gifts and done their utmost; but they are over, and the end is come. All is past and gone, all has failed, all has sated; we are tired of the past; we would not have the seasons longer.”
There can be a winter of weariness that settles over the soul at year’s end—a sense that our warmest seasons are behind us.
Yet just as the earth sleeps under frost, God is at work beneath the surface. Advent meets us there, reminding us that with Christ, all things hold the promise of spring.
Advent hope brings meaning into melancholy by turning our eyes toward the promise of a new heaven and a new earth.
So as another year closes and the days grow short, we pray with Advent hope: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Reflect: Where in your life do you feel a sense of weariness, loss, or closure? How might Advent be inviting you to trust that God is still at work beneath the surface?
In this Advent series, Fr. Jason Smith draws from his personal experiences and St. John Henry Newman’s own Advent sermons, connecting themes like reverence, awe, and intimately encountering Christ in the simplicity and stillness of ordinary life. Pray with us on The Regnum Christi App, sign up to have each day’s reflection delivered to your inbox every morning, or follow the RC Spirituality Center on Instagram and Facebook.
Ordained in 2006, Fr. Jason has served as a Legionary priest throughout the US, primarily in New York and Michigan. His newest role has called him south, as the superior of the Houston community of the Legionaries of Christ.
