Time seemed to be moving too fast that sometimes we feel that with a blink of an eye, the year 2019 is almost gone. But for us Catholics, we sometimes have the urge to hurry our calendar so that once we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, December is already upon us and the two main celebrations in our Church is Advent and Christmas.
This Sunday, we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent and so our focus this week will be on Celebrating Advent.
Advent has two purposes. The first, and most visible, is that it helps us prepare for Christmas when Christ became human. As we come to the fourth Sunday of Advent, we hear in our readings about Mary’s conception and how she responded to God’s invitation to bear Jesus. The time from her conception until Jesus’s birth nine months later was one of expectancy and hope. Advent has this same aspect for us: a time of joyful expectation of Christ’s coming into our lives.
From December 16th through the 24th, Advent begins to focus strongly on Christmas – our Simbang Gabi, Dawn Masses or Aguinaldo masses. Each day between these dates is geared toward one of the titles for Christ: “O Wisdom,” “O Lord,” “O Root of Jesse,” “O King of David,” “O Dayspring,” “O King of All Nations,” “O Emmanuel.” Thus, the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is so appropriate during these days of Advent.
Secondly, during Advent “minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and Calendar, 39). This second focus is most noticeable in the first few weeks of Advent. While we look to Christ’s final coming at the end of time, we are not necessarily waiting for a day of destruction or disaster; rather, we are awaiting a day of hope. This future is the future God intends for the world.
In liturgy, Christ comes into the present through the power of the Sprit. In the Scriptures that we proclaimed, Christ speaks to us; and in the Eucharist, Christ enters us so that we might be transformed into his body. The power of Christ is that he is not confined to either the past or the future, but he comes into the present to nourish us in Word (Scriptures) and Eucharist so that we will continue to wait joyfully for the consummation of Christ’s final coming.
In summary, Advent is a season when the Church prepares for Christ’s coming (1) at Christmas, (2) in the final coming, and (3) through the sacraments. Past and future are mediated in the present. It is God’s transforming invitation to accept his promises and to journey in hope toward Christ’s final coming.
Thank you and May God Bless Us All.