Advent with Father Dehon – 1st Sunday of Advent 2025

Over the four weekends of Advent, we have undertaken to share with you the Sunday Advent meditations, prepared by the Dehonian Laity from the four major corners of our Dehonian Jubilee. This first Sunday of Advent, we meditate with the group of Dehonian Laity from Saint-Quentin.

by Laïcs Dehoniens Saint-Quentin

Pilgrims of Hope with Father Dehon, let us prepare our hearts to welcome this new Advent. Following the example of Father Dehon, who founded the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart right here in Saint-Quentin, let us begin by exposing ourselves to the presence of Jesus. Let us put ourselves down, let us dispossess ourselves, let us allow him to enter into us.

Let us welcome his divine light. Let us ask his Spirit of Fire to help us adore… Jesus is here, let us not search outside, let us not search elsewhere: the most beautiful of treasures is hidden in our heart (JN Klinguer).

At the request of Father Dehon, let us not forget to invite Mary, who by her Ecce Ancilla invites us to availability in faith.

Let us allow ourselves to be drawn towards a new dawn, by Jesus who comes to expose himself, fragile, from always and for always in our midst, deep within our heart, right now.

Let us dare to leave him all the space… May men, women, children, and young people be born in the heart of this Dehonian cross, ready to fulfill this immense contract of love, a Love filled by the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

May our heart represent the manger and may each of us be a straw so that, once gathered and assembled, we form a soft bed to receive the first moments of our Lord’s life.

Let us know how to fill the empty heart of our cross with many gifts, praises, prayers, adorations, and acts of reparation “for You, our friend.”

Virtually across the five continents, let us connect with one another to form a great heart burning with love, in the image of the Sacred Heart and in a spirit dear to Father Dehon, and let us welcome the will of a God of Love.

May only the Lord’s love through his Spirit quench our thirst and nourish us, so that we may become companions on the journey for the brothers and sisters He puts on our path.

Joyful ascent, step by step, towards Christmas.