We often think of our prayer as being quiet time and a time set apart to be with God.  And, that’s not a bad understanding of prayer.

But prayer can also be so much more.  Advent is an exercise in teaching us how to wait, to long, to prepare and to enrich our prayer – our time with God – and our time in this world, in this place.

Dorothy Day, who is now being considered for sainthood, thought that prayer was so much more than words.  She believed that we also have to live our prayer and act on it.  She thought that the actions of our lives and the work that we do can be our prayer.  According to her, our prayer can be a witness to our life, to the work we do, the things we love and care for.

The way Dorothy prayed allowed her to see Christ in the many disturbing disguises he wears in this world.  Because of her prayer, Dorothy could see Christ, and could reach out and serve him in the hungry and needy people standing right in front of her.

Has our waiting and preparing during this Advent advanced our understanding of prayer?  Has it allowed us the grace to pray through the work that we do and to see Christ and serve him with the very actions of our lives?

This is the preparing work of Advent.  And, there are still six days left.