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1st Sunday of Advent | "The Nutcracker"



The “Nutcracker”, one of the best-known ballets of all time, tells the story of a little girl and her nutcracker soldier who embark on an adventure against the shadows of the reign of the mice. The ending, known to all, is simple and intriguing: was it all a dream or reality?

On the surface, this ballet has only one aspect in common with the season we're living in: the Stahlbaum family's Christmas party, but let's not be fooled, we can glean much more. Not only the party, as a sign of the joy of this season, but also the tree - which grows to give stage to the magical world of the Nutcracker - is a symbol of this inner world that grows within us and to which we are called to awaken (and not only in our dreams).

Advent is a time of wonder, a time of hope, a time of waiting and watching. And this is where the Nutcracker brings us light. Can we truly allow ourselves to be amazed by this season without expanding our inner house? We marvel at the Christmas lights and colors, but do we also look at our inner lights and shadows? In this season, let's let our inner house expand so that we can truly welcome the Lord Jesus who is coming!

The ballet's turning point comes when the Nutcracker soldier defeats the Rat King, with the help of Miss Clara. This help comes in the form of a shout or, in some other interpretations of the ballet, the throwing of a shoe. Let's focus on the scream, something so typical of this time. This cry is also our cry against the world of shadows, the cry so evangelical: Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! Come and dispel the darkness in our hearts. May our inner heart-home prepare itself, starting by asking the Lord to come to dispel the darkness and bring the light that comes from his birth.

The ending of The Nutcracker is well known, it ends precisely with the ball! What if this time of waiting were also a ball? A ball of gratitude and joy for the life of our savior and for our life?

If sometimes the ball seems to have no color, let's remember Saint Jacinta Marto, who on August 13, imprisoned with her cousins in Ourém, danced with tears in her eyes with the prisoners who tried to cheer her up.

So let's start this time by dancing. With tears or without tears, let's dance, because the time has come! A child has been given to us! Yes, a baby in the manger will be the sign of salvation for us. Our time is near, our day of salvation is near.

Sr. Sophie Alves, asm


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