Happy Thanksgiving from Jim!
And a short update.
Dear friends and family,
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all will have an opportunity to spend the day with your loved ones and be thankful for the gift of love. This Thanksgiving, I am spending the holiday with my consecrated brothers in McLean, VA, where our main Youth Apostle house is located. We have big plans for food and some other fun activities over the next couple of days. I am also looking forward to making and enjoying a big meal with my parents and siblings this coming Saturday, since we will all be in different places on Thanksgiving day. It is a beautiful thing to have so much family to spend time with!
In more seminary-related news, it has been a very blessed semester so far! I am doing well in all my classes. We have been diving in deeply to classical metaphysics and scholastic philosophy while also studying and understanding the arguments of many modern and post-modern thinkers.
My comprehension of biblical greek is getting to the point where I can look at 1800+ year old papyrus text and scrolls and identify the basics of what is being said. It is a really exciting experience to feel like I am getting somewhere in an ancient language like greek!
Advent starts this coming Sunday. Keep in mind that this is a time of preparation for the Lord’s coming at Christmas. It is a good practice to do something a little different than normal as you prepare. This first week, I will spend some time reflecting on the Visitation, when Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth while they are both pregnant with their sons. The above oil on canvas painting is La Visitacción by Gerónimo Ezquerra. I love how the artist glorifies the Blessed Mother in this work. A crown of stars, angels, and light from heaven surround her, and yet Mary does not heed such things. Rather, she looks intently into the eyes of her cousin with self-giving love. She traveled miles from Galilee to come and serve Elizabeth.
Feel free to reach out and let me know what your plans are for advent to make it a time a preparation for Christmas. Please keep me in your prayers, and I will keep you in mine!
With great care,
Jim Harbour, Y.A.