We have arrived at the Fourth Sunday of Advent. All the candles on the Advent Wreath are now lit, signaling that our Advent journey is coming to its completion with Christmas a few days away. Mother Seton has been our companion for these weeks. In this Fourth Week of Advent, we recall how she is a woman with open arms receiving God’s grace and reflecting this back in loving service. Our Setonian images this week express this theme in her life of arms wide open and giving back in loving service.
The image on the left is a newer statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton found on campus in Bethany Hall that portrays so well the embracing side of Mother Seton. We see this concept of motherhood portrayed in this statue as Mother Seton was a mother of five children pouring her love, care, and support to her children. This would continue after the death of her husband, William, where her nurturing continued with the students she taught and the women who joined her in her work of education who would become religious sisters with her. In her receiving from God and others, Mother Seton also gave of herself in loving service. This statue reminds us that even today, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton as a powerful intercessor in Heaven continues to receive our prayers and intercedes for us before the throne of God. She is still a mother to us here at Seton Hall as our patron and with a mother’s care she watches over all on this campus and beyond.
The image on the right is a statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton that is in the priest dining room on campus; it is used during events for the University, Mass of the Holy Spirit, and graduation. With the Christmas tree in the foreground, we are reminded of all the festive ways this university has been preparing to celebrate the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the season of giving and receiving, with expressions of kindness, charity, and hospitality to all. Christmas is a time not only to receive, but to give back.
Finally, the middle image is a stained-glass window of the Nativity of our Lord. This window can be found in the Seminary Chapel of Christ the Good Shepherd here on campus. This window expresses the central focus for our celebration this Christmas, the birth of Jesus the Lord. Here, Jesus has his arms out receiving the love of Mary and Joseph and all who come and adore Him. These arms stretched out are a foreshadowing of His arms outstretched on the cross in His ultimate act of sacrificial love He has for us all. From the crib to the Cross, His Redemptive act of love was made manifest and is ongoing.
Today’s Gospel is of the familiar story of the Annunciation of the Lord’s birth but seen through the perspective of St. Joseph. Here, the prophesy of Isaiah is fulfilled:
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
Mary, Joseph, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton direct us in these final days of Advent to have our arms stretched out wide to receive the love and grace of Our God. We in return pay it forward in loving service to our neighbor.
What better gift to bring to the manger than to place our love at the service of God and one another? Oh, come, let us adore…and experience a foretaste of the joy and happiness of glory!
