This Advent morning I have been pondering the idea, the posture of “waiting.” What does it mean to wait for the Lord’s coming? To wait in hope? I haven’t formulated all my thoughts yet, but one thing that rings true to me about waiting is something that Pope Benedict talked about in his general audience yesterday. In the context of speaking about St. William of Saint-Thierry (a good friend of St. Bernard of Clairvaux), he wrote: “Human nature, in its most profound essence, consists in loving. In a word, only one task is entrusted to every human being: to learn to will the good, to love, sincerely, authentically, freely. However, only at the school of God can this task be accomplished and man can attain the end for which he was created.”
What struck me was that there is a link between loving and waiting. If I put all my energy into loving–loving God, receiving His love, loving others as I am loved–then I will indeed be “actively” waiting, actively preparing for His coming. What better thing could I do than that to prepare for Him who is Love itself?
Witnesses to Hope 
What struck me is how transformative love is to the one surrendered to love.I think often we expect the object of love to be transformed by love.I have and continue to be surprised at how transforming loving well is on the one loving.
Isn’t that the truth? GOD essentially prepares us for His coming–by loving us and by helping us love Him, by dwelling in us–as in the stable–as Love. Thank you for sharing that thought, Diane.