You know, in my life as an Ecumenist, both on the theological and the practical side, I have worked with folks from every denomination and major world religion. One of the side effects is that when one enters into dialogue with others, you gain a real appreciation for your own tradition.
…I really like being Catholic.
One of the great things about being Catholic is that how we see every part of life as touched by Almighty God. We sanctify everything: people, places…and time. As we enter int Advent this week, I’m going to concentrate on how we sanctify time.
We have holy hours, holy days, (ergo the word “Holiday”), Holy Week, and holy seasons. In many ways this makes us counter cultural.
While secular America has just entered “the Holiday Season”, we enter into the Holy Season of Advent. For us Catholics and many protestants, the Christmas season proper does not begin until the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve and continues until the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord. on January 12th.
But before we get there, we have this wonderful season of expectation, preparation, repentance, and hope.
Most people may know that the Advent season focuses on expectation and think that it serves as an anticipation of Christ’s birth in the season leading up to Christmas. This is part of the story, but there’s so much more to Advent.
The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word parousia (παρουσία). During the 4th and 5th centuries in Spain and Gaul, Advent was a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians in January on the feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ’s humanity and divinity by the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus, his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, and his first miracle at Cana. During this season of preparation, sometimes called St. Martin’s Lent, since it began on November 11th, the Feast of St. Martin, early Christians would spend 40 days in penance, prayer, and fasting to prepare for this celebration.
By the 6th century, however, the Church in Rome had tied Advent to the coming of Christ. Pope Gregory the Great in the late 6th/early 7th century composed many of the prayers, antiphons, and psalm responses. But the “coming” they had in mind was not Christ’s first coming in the manger in Bethlehem, but his second coming in glory at the end of the age. It was not until the Middle Ages that the Advent season was explicitly linked to Christ’s first coming at Christmas.
These days, the first three weeks of Advent focus on our preparation for Christ’s second coming in glory. Then, in the last week of Advent, we shift the focus to our preparation for his first coming in humility.
The readings each Sunday reinforce this. Today, we hear the prophet Jeremiah remind us that the days are coming when the Lord will fulfill his promise to send the Messiah
Paul exhorts us to conduct ourselves in a way that is pleasing to God.
And finally, Our Lord himself tells us that when he comes again in glory, we should stand erect and raise our head, for our redemption is at hand. Indeed, the trials and tribulations that he mentioned seem all too present sometimes. Thus, we need to remain vigilant so that we may recognize him at his coming.
And he may find us waiting in joyful hope.
How we keep the Holy Season of Advent not only helps us do so, but it can be a lot of fun.
Be counter cultural!
This year, why not make Advent something special. Here’s some ideas
- Get an Advent Wreath.
- Celebrate the Sundays of Advent and the major saints and feasts:
- St. Andew’s Christmas Novena
- St. Nicholas Day, 6 December
- Immaculate Conception, Holy Day Dec. 9th
- Our Lady of Guadalupe, 12 December
- St. Lucy Day, 13 Dec
- Go to Confession! Get your spiritual house in order.
- Fun stuff to do in Advent
- Advent Wreathes
- Jesse Trees – an example in the Narthex
- Advent Calendars
- O Antiphons
- Have the Wise Men travel across the living room a little each day, until they finally reach the manger on January 6th.
- Once you’ve set up your Manger, (of Baby Jesus won’t go in there until Christmas), have a little pile of straw nearby. Every times someone in the house does a good deed, put a piece of straw in the manger so that Jesus may have a comfortable bed when he arrives .
- Clean out your closet and give something to the Warm Clothing Drive.
- Go to Formed.org for videos, podcasts and Advent resources.
Advent is a time of expectation, preparation, repentance, and hope.
For the first three weeks we prepare for his second coming in glory at the end of the age. In the last week, we shift our focus as we prepare to celebrate his first coming in humility.
Be counter cultural! Get ready! Have fun! So that when Our Lord comes…
however he comes,
he may find us ready to welcome him
standing erect, with our heads held high,
filled with hope and joy.
