Advent with St. John Henry Newman
Reflections by Fr. Jason Smith, LC
I recently hiked up a mountain in New Hampshire with the novices to watch the sunrise. We started in the dark, our flashlights bobbing along the stone-strewn path. We reached the summit just in time to watch the sun rise and the whole world become washed in gold.
St. John Henry Newman writes: “The season is chill and dark, and the breath of the morning is damp, and worshippers are few, but all this befits those who are by profession penitents and mourners, watchers and pilgrims.”
Life can be like climbing that mountain in the dark. We may only have enough light for the next step. But it’s precisely the darkness and the stumbling that make the sunrise so spectacular when it comes.
We are, as Newman says, watchers and pilgrims. We walk through life with little lamps of faith, waiting for the Light of the World to break upon us. Faith doesn’t ask that we see the whole path ahead—only that we keep our lamps burning until dawn arrives.
So as we hike life’s mountain today, let us lift our eyes toward the horizon and pray: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Reflect: Where in your life does it feel that you are walking through darkness, by faith alone? How is Advent inviting you to wait patiently and trust that the dawn will come?
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.
