We are now in Advent the official run up to the feast of Christmas as we begin the Spiritual preparation we light the first purple candle on the Advent Wreath and we pray that we will make good the preparations for the season of Christmas. The message of advent is clear for us, we must continually strive to work for a peaceful and just world, so that Christ may have room in our homes and our hearts. We start our journey to be illuminated by His Words of peace and to allow Him to indicate the path to tread. (cf. Is 2:1-5). Moreover, we must change our conduct abandoning the works of darkness and put on the ‘armor of light’ and to seek only to do God’s work and to abandon the deeds of the flesh. (cf. Rm 13:12-14). Jesus, through the story in the parable, outlines the Christian life style that must not be distracted and indifferent but must be vigilant and recognize even the smallest sign of the Lord’s coming because we don’t know the hour in which He will arrive. (cf. Mt 24:39-44) Saint John Henry Newman reminded us in a homily for the Advent Season: “Advent is a time of waiting, it is a time of joy because the coming of Christ is not only a gift of grace and salvation but it is also a time of commitment because it motivates us to live the present as a time of responsibility and vigilance. This ‘vigilance’ means the urgency of an industrious, living ‘wait’ We need to take Advent seriously, for the coming of the Lord will be not just a beautiful Christmas, but the actual day of judgment. With joy, let us climb the mountain of the Lord! We believe that Advent is the time of preparation for the celebration of the Birth of Jesus. At the beginning of each church year we are reminded that Jesus the Christ is present as a person to us. When we think that his presence is something so exalted as to be beyond our own experience, we are reminded that he was born in the lowest of places, a common stable. The first visitors were stinky, rough shepherds.
The tragedy of this season is that we have been programmed to believe it’s all about buying things, about gift giving, about phrenetic activity that leaves us exhausted and very happy it’s all over by Christmas night. So then we forget the 12 days of Christmas and dump the tree and the lights and wait for Valentine’s Day. So what are we really waiting for this Advent? is it all the presents and the comings and goings that families and friend’s bring over Christmas or is it the birthday of Jesus the Son of god our saviour who gives the true meaning to our Advent preparations and our Christmas celebrations.
Fullerton T 