I find it funny when something I’m experiencing shows up in the prayer I’m going to write about. I wouldn’t be surprised if it rings true for some of you as well. This week we Lecito the Liturgy with the Collect for the 2nd Sunday in Advent.
Almighty and merciful God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son, but may our learning of heavenly wisdom gain us admittance to his company. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
There is a powerful set of opposites in this prayer: earthly undertakings and heavenly wisdom.
Earthly undertakings sound like the things we take on ourselves, our plans, or our intentions. However, also included are the trials or sufferings that come from external events or even through the actions of others. Some of them are things we have no control over and they can have a deep effect on our spiritual life.
It seems like 2025 was an “earthly undertaking” for me. Except for the birth of our first grandchild, the year was hard. Pain in my knee and ineffective injections led to a knee replacement in May. Two months later I experienced pain in my left foot. I was stuck between “you need to walk to exercise your knee” and “you need to stay off your foot.”
I learned first hand how these physical “undertakings” get in the way of admittance to God’s company. And it’s not just pain, “undertakings” can also be grief, loss, or disappointment. What a traumatic event does quickly, some undertakings do quietly. Sowly and silently, some “undertakings” take our eyes off God.
Last month, my husband and I led a pilgrimage to Italy and I had to wear an orthopedic walking boot the whole time. I knew before I left that when we got back, I would need to schedule surgery. My foot was prayed about, prayed into, and prayed over. The words I received from God were the same: trust and praise. I believe that trust and praise are our first steps of learning of heavenly wisdom, which overcome earthly undertakings and bring us to God’s company.
If you need to know, cobblestone streets don’t work that great with plastic boots. The slope of the hills of Montecassino never did match the angle of the ankle of the boot. Just like a typical pilgrimage, we walked a lot and all I to get through the day, all I had was trust. Numerous times each day, all I could pray was, “Jesus, you told me that all I had to do was trust you. I can do this.” When I laid in bed each night, I prayed, “I trusted in You and I made it. I know You will be there tomorrow,” and then I would praise Him.
We thank God for what He’s done, but we praise Him for who He is. “Jesus, you are the divine healer. Praise you Jesus, you the Lord and the giver of good gifts,” and then I would fall asleep.
I learned that one of the most powerful things we can do is praise God. Praise makes the Lord present (Psalm 22:3). Praise is also sometimes the hardest thing to do because praise takes our eyes off ourselves and puts our focus on God.
As I write this, I am scheduled for surgery. It seems unfair to spend Advent and Christmas in a non weight bearing time of healing, but it is what it is. I am also now equipped to do it because God taught me trust and praise.
Whatever “earthly undertaking” you are experiencing right now now, know that you are not alone. Trust Him and praise Him. And then just take a few minutes to sit quietly and ask Jesus to come to you. Recognize that you are in His presence and just stay right there. You don’t need to “do,” you just need to “be.”
In this time of Advent, know that He desires to come closer to you than you can imagine. Our almighty and merciful God has blessings in abundance for us in this season and the greatest of them is His presence. All we need to do to enter in is to trust and praise.