The Advent of a Cold

Advent is a great liturgical season for introverts, with its introspective music and call to go within to prepare one’s heart to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. That’s probably why it has always been the liturgical season that speaks most deeply to me. I was especially looking forward to my first Advent at the Mount because of the richness of the music and prayer here. Imagine my dismay, then, when I became afflicted with a cold on the first Sunday of Advent!

I am particularly feeling the temporary loss of my ability to sing and chant because of my cold. Silent prayer just doesn’t seem to resonate as deeply as prayer that is intoned. As I learned in Sr. Mary Irene’s Psalms class, the Hebrew word for “soul” that is often used in the psalms is “nephesh,” which is also translated as “throat.” When our throat closes up, we lose the ability to breathe and to praise/beseech God, and so the throat is directly related to the soul. Therefore, it appears that this first week of Advent I should be directing my prayers to St. Blaise of Sebaste, protector of throats!

The other loss I am feeling because of my cold is the ability to extend the sign of peace to others at mass. I was especially feeling bad about that when we had mass at the Catholic Callout at the prison Wednesday night; however, one of the inmates took the initiative to bump elbows with me instead of shaking hands, which allowed us to extend peace to each other without exchanging germs. The Spirit is certainly ingenious when it comes to generating peace and connections between people.

Ultimately, having a cold this first week of Advent has provided its own lessons. It has heightened my appreciation for the gifts of my voice and of being with people who value connecting with each other and living in peace. It has prompted me to practice stillness, which is an Advent call that is often difficult to implement. Truly, “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose”—even when it comes to having a head cold.