December 1st, 2025
“Advent Star” by Clarissa Cervantes
When Old Meets New
By Tim Bete
A mashup of the Book of Wisdom (18:14-16; 19:6-9) and the Gospel of Luke (2:1-20).
When peaceful stillness compassed everything,
And the night in its swift course was half spent,
The time for Mary came to have her child,
All-powerful Word to the Earth was sent.
She gave birth to her Lord and firstborn son,
From Heaven’s throne, creation was renewed,
Wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him down,
An unimpeded road as God broke through.
The shepherds in the region, in the fields,
And cross the whole wide nation by your hand,
Stupendous wonder, glory of the Lord,
They bound about like horses; leapt like lambs.
A multitude of angels sang and prayed,
One told the shepherds not to be afraid,
They praised you, Lord, their just deliverer,
A savior had been born to them that day.
The Third Soldier
By Tim Bete
Comrades in arms, yet his attire unique,
Much lighter than the others, different hue,
Two shorter than him, both with glowing cheeks,
His job to add pure joy to hope and peace.
The three stood silently; waited for love,
For seven days they stared, proud and erect,
Until a flame came and touched from above,
Ignited love, all four heads flickered up.
Only three days until the Savior’s grace,
When a new squad of soldiers would replace,
Hope, peace, and joy and love; their service done,
Embodied by a newborn’s smiling face.
Tim Bete is editor emeritus of the Catholic Poetry Room (CatholicPoetry.org) and author of the poetry collections The Raw Stillness of Heaven and Wanderings of an Ordinary Pilgrim.
Clarissa Cervantes is a photographer, physical therapist, and researcher. Clarissa strives to create meaningful Catholic images to inspire and uplift readers. Clarissa holds a Doctoral in Physical Therapy, where she found her vocation to help as well as to deliver comfort to people all over the world through her work, images and words. For Clarissa every image captured represents her faith, which is a gift from God to be shared with others and to encourage one another to find beauty, hope and gratitude in their daily lives. Clarissa made her vows as a Pauline Lay Cooperator and never looked back, through her writing and photography she has been published on the Pauline Association Magazine, L.A Catholics Magazine, Angelus News Magazine, EWTN Media Missionaries and The Young Catholic Woman Blog.