By Thomas Petri, O.P., First Things - Blessed John Henry Newman begins one of his sermons on the season of Advent by noting the stark chill of December: “The year is worn out,” he says, “spring, summer, autumn, each in turn, have brought their gifts and done their utmost; but they are over and the end has come.” There’s something about these days of increasing darkness that naturally puts us in the frame of mind to consider the future....