MotherChurch celebrates Advent on at least two levels at once.One level is the celebration with our Jewish brothers and sisters, the waiting for the Messiah.The second level of celebration is preparing each of our hearts to meet Jesus face-to-face at our Particular Judgment.
The readings for Advent lean heavily on the prophet Isaiah who spoke eloquently of the longing of Israel for the Messiah.Isaiah speaks of living in hope, hope in God’s love for the gift of redemption, recognizing that life without hope makes life meaningless.It is despair.
Place yourself in the shoes of the Jewish people, living under the oppression of the Roman Empire.Are we not the same today?We live in a world that has rejected Christ as evident by the media, politics and even in Church members who compromise their Faith for the here and now.We, the faithful Catholic, longs to be set free from this oppression.We indeed share in the poverty of the Jewish people.
If we listen to the Gospel readings of Advent, they are a preparation for meeting Jesus at the moment of our death.We are admonished to prepare our souls for that fateful day when we must give an account of our life.
We prepare for our meeting with Christ by focusing on that relationship with Him.We strive to become more pleasing in His eyes by accepting His love for us and by sharing that love with others.Monthly Confessions, frequent and humble reception of the Eucharist, a serious daily prayer life, and study of the Faith are part of the formula for preparing to meet Jesus.Added to this standard list should be a daily examination of one’s conscience so we might see ourselves as He sees us.
A third way of approaching Advent is to put oneself in the place of the Virgin Mary as she prepares for the coming of her son, the Son of God.She spent her Advent in service of Elizabeth, her cousin, and of pondering how she (Mary) should respond to such an earthshaking event.She spent time in quiet, contemplating these truths in her heart and soul.Live in imitation of Mary.
As a part of this third way of approaching Advent, we should ask our Lord to be born anew in the depths of our hearts, ever deeper, ever more intense.That the Christ-Child would be born in love, in our hearts would enable us to fulfill all that Advent is meant to be.
As your spiritual son helps his parishioners prepare for Christmas, ask Jesus, Mary's son, to be born anew and ever deeper in his heart.This will enable him to be a better confessor, to say Mass more recollected, to preach the Word ever more completely and to draw closer to his Lord, who is the eternal High Priest.
Please know that you are in my daily prayers, especially at the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
