# Beauty in the desert
*2008-12-10*

> Bill Young reflects on a passage from Father James Field's 'A Melody of Hope,' exploring how God brings life and beauty to the dry, weary places of our souls.

## A Prayer for Favors

I begin today with a prayer I received from my aunt, Sister Mary Teresa, many years ago, called the 'Prayer to obtain favors': Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, oh my God, to hear my prayer, to grant my desires through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

## Fear and Beauty in the Sonoran Desert

Today's reflection is titled 'Beauty in the Desert.' Father James Field describes a retreat to the Sonoran Desert near Tucson. As a boy from Boston, he was initially terrified by the welcome brochure, which warned of scorpions, poisonous snakes, Gila monsters, and packs of javelinas. He wondered why anyone would live in such a scary, barren place.

However, he was told that there is no place so beautiful in the world, especially the day after a soaking rain. He learned that there is life just beneath the surface—wildflowers and cacti waiting to bloom, some of which only flower once every hundred years. As he listened to the stories of the people there, he began to see the desert through their eyes, and he found himself sad to leave.

## Finding Hope in Dry Places

In today's first reading, Isaiah marks the desert as a place of hope and promise, where God will open fountains in the valleys and plant cedars, acacias, and olives. We all carry dry, weary places deep inside us. Part of the power of Advent is recognizing God's desire to meet us in those places and give us life.

The message today is clear: God says to us, 'Fear not, I am ready to help you.' Like the scary critters in the desert, our fears may lose their hold on us once we pay attention to how God loves us.

## Overcoming Fear

I invite you to remember a time when someone helped you through a fear, changing its power over you. As you light a candle today, imagine God's desire to take that fear from your heart.

*Take me by the hand today, dear God, and help me trust.*