Religion & Spirituality
Carmen Nanko-Fernández offers a reflection on the intersection of the readings for the Third Sunday of Advent and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: "We need to remember that today is a day of rejoicing, of fiesta—a time to affirm the gift of life, no matter how fragile; a time to confirm that we are indeed accompanied by the divine. Fiestas are not escapes from daily misery, but necessary acts of resistance to suffering, acts of re-membering and restoration en lo cotidiano (in the everyday). Fiestas are responses of gratitude for the God que nos acompaña (who accompanies us) and rejoicing for the protections offered us wrapped in the embrace of maternal arms." A self-described Hurban@́ (Hispanic and urban) theologian, Carmen is Professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry, and the director of the Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, USA. Carmen created Theology en la Plaza column for the National Catholic Reporter. Some of her recent essays are available there as well as in Commonweal. She is also the founding co-editor of the multivolume series Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente (Orbis). Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12122021 to learn more about Carmen, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.