Advent with St. John Henry Newman
Reflections by Fr. Jason Smith, LC
One evening, I was walking down a long hallway in the seminary at night. The lights were off, and it was completely dark, but I was feeling confident, with no need for light—this long, straight, and empty hallway never changes. Except that night. Halfway through, I met a coffee table. It met me back. I went down, my shin throbbing.
St. John Henry Newman writes: “We are no longer in the region of shadows… ‘The darkness is past, and the True Light now shineth.’ And therefore He calls upon us to ‘walk in the light as He is in the light.’”
It’s easy to stumble when we think we know our way in the dark. Pride thinks that since we’ve walked this path before, we can manage without help. But Advent invites us to another way: to live as children of the light.
God’s light doesn’t blind; it guides. It reveals what’s actually there (or shouldn’t be there, like misplaced tables). His illumination isn’t a floodlight but a steady flame showing just enough for the next step.
Each small act of trust is a step forward in that light. The path may seem dim, but Christ walks it with us, teaching us to see as he sees—to move not by self-assurance, but by faith.
Let us walk in Advent light as we pray: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Reflect: Is there something in your life that you’ve been carrying alone—trying to manage on your own without asking for God’s help? What would it look like to humbly entrust this to God this Advent?
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.
