About a month ago, I was ready to begin writing a post regarding the Christmas season (which had begun around us in the retail stores). At mass a few nights ago, the priest pointed out that the Christmas season began all around us in around the middle of October, at least for my area, but for Catholics we will begin celebrating Christmas on Christmas day and until February.
Last month I felt this weight of darkness for a variety of reasons summed up in a mirror of our society, thus I was longing for Christmas. I longed for the joy, the excitement, and the beauty that comes with the season. I hoped it would help me escape the reality of the state of the world. I then began to recognize how people (whether they are of religious affiliation or not) are more cheerful during the season and hoped those around me would warm up even just a bit.
This excitement for the joy of the season is a truth, but I was uniting with the secular world instead of taking the time to experience the Advent season. That is why I am glad I waited to write this post, God showed me during this past month before Advent even began that I need to shift my focus. It is something I feel called to help others recognize as well. Advent is a beautiful and “sacred season of anticipation and expectation in which we come to terms with the deepest yearning of our soul- a yearning fulfilled only in Jesus Christ” (except from The Magnificat Advent Companion). Ah ha, the yearning I had is a sincere one, but we need to harness that and recognize this as a time of waiting. The word “Advent” means “coming,” so we are preparing ourselves while waiting for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. During Advent we may experience hope, longing, waiting for Light, and the eagerness to keep watch. We may experience these feelings periodically throughout Advent, or relate to one particular desire. I realized I could use the darkness around me in society to meditate and try and relate to the past during the first Advent. Think of the time Moses brought the people out of Egypt- they had been living in darkness of slavery and difficult conditions but they remained with hope that God would deliver. We can look in the Old Testament and observe their faith in God. On the shopping day called “Black Friday,” I couldn’t help but see it as a reflection of those during the Advent season in the past without Christ. I am not saying it is bad to head out on Black Friday to catch a great deal, but if you look around at the chaos due to the greed, selfishness, and commercialism you will notice it is in those moments that people get hurt. So I took moments to pray that God will come in our hearts, into our lives. It is in the dark of the night we look forward to the dawn to break. The liturgical color is purple as this is a season of penance, preparation, and prayer. During the third week, we can really begin to relate to the anticipation those in the past experienced. The anticipation is an exciting one.
We reflect on Advent in the past and we stop to reflect on the coming of Jesus at the end. It can be difficult to meditate both on the past, and in the present prepare for the second coming of Christ. God asks the same thing of those of the past as of us awaiting our death and preparing for Christ to come again. He asks us to be ready, be ever striving to be saint like each day. He will come when we least expect it. It is out of love that we prepare ourselves. ”May Christmas be for us all a preparation for eternity, as the concluding words of the Wesford Carol declare: ‘In faith and hope, whatever befall, we’ll wait in peace his holy call” (Magnificat Advent Companion).
There is another time of Advent. During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we experience Advent during the 1 hour fast, during the prayer before mass, preparing our hearts and minds during the general absolution and readings, and so many other great moments. Christ comes to us in what looks like ordinary bread and wine. Christ’s Body and Blood is truly present. In the same way that we see smiles on peoples faces while celebrating Christmas, I would like to see smiles on peoples faces while being in His presence.
Pope Benedict XVI states “It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.”
I ask that each of us amend our relationships and our lives during this time so we can continue with a sense of hope. We will then stop and enjoy the Christmas celebration together. May God bless us this Advent season.
