Advent: It's about HOPE

We have begun the new Church year. We begin each year with the wonderful season of Advent. As the first clip below tells us - Advent is a time of "Spring cleaning" in our lives. Let's get rid of all the nonsense and focus on Jesus - God who is Love and always wants to visit us where we are. Father Robert Barron's homily for last week was also very insightful when it spoke about this season as we approach Christmas (see www.wordonfire.com). As I have told friends before, the anticipation and expectancy of enjoying something is much better than having the thing itself. The waiting lasts longer and allows us to cherish the moments leading up to the consummation of whichever event we await. I often buy things to eat, only to leave them on the shelf so I can enjoy waiting to tuck in. Those moments of savouring the wait are fantastic. They enable me to stretch the enjoyment to the maximum :-)

Message for third week of Advent from sunny South Africa

I arrived back in Vereeniging yesterday and had a wonderful Mass in Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish Church this morning. I'd like to share the reflection printed on the Catholic Link leaflet produced by Redemptorist Pastoral Publications.

"Prepare"

Advent is a time of careful preparation as we welcome God in the person of Jesus Christ. Metaphors of preparation include - building a bridge; preparing the soil; laying the groundwork. The model of preparation that I propose is based loosely on the spiritual preparation we make in uniting ourselves with Jesus in Holy Communion.

Firstly, we make an act of faith in the goodness of the divine initiative of God. God always takes the first step in coming towards us. Although we deserve punishment for our sinfulness, God does not approach us as a vindictive judge but as a divine physician - to heal us from the wounds of sin. Our act of faith possesses our hearts with eagerness as we welcome the God of mercy and compassion. Our eagerness is characterised by an absence of fear since God who is love, dispels all fear.

Secondly, we make an act of contrition. The familiar act of contrition posits that we are sorry for having sinned against God because He is so good. This is the proper motive for contrition. Other motives such as fear of punishment or eternal separation are not invalid, but they do not reflect accurately the love of God which inspires our contrite hearts. The communion that God desires to have with us is a communion of love. A handy way of assessing our contrition is to look at the ways in which we have disobeyed the commandments of God. Do I love God with all my heart and soul? Have I shown love and respect to the most important people in my life? Do I live with my neighbour in peace and truth? Do I respect the beauty of sexuality as a gift for the building up of the family? Like the psalmist, we desire to climb the mountain of the Lord and stand in his holy presence.

God accepts our act of contrition and purifies our hearts and our hands that we might receive him worthily.

Thirdly, we make an act of love. In order to receive Love into my heart, I resolve to act in love. We listen to and act upon the words of the Baptist. The signs of conversion must be seen in actions which manifest our decision to turn to the Lord. We acknowledge that it is useless to profess our love for God if we do not love our neighbour. We share our food, our clothing, our time and talents. When we exercise charity towards our neighbour, we are ministering to Christ himself. This is a cause of great joy for us. When we recognise that it is Christ to whom we are ministering, we understand that the poor, the hungry and the suffering are not objects of our pity but rather are instruments effecting our own evangelisation.

Through faith we prepare the soil of our hearts to receive God. By contrition we build a bridge for God. In love we lay the foundation for God's kingdom to be established.

Free Pope Benedict XVI for Advent and Christmas

"Watch", Jesus tells us…Watching means following the Lord, choosing what Christ chose, loving what he loved, conforming one's own life to his; watching means passing every instant of our time in the sphere of his love without letting oneself be disheartened by the inevitable difficulties and problems of daily life.

(B16, Homily 30 November 2008) www.bendicteveryday.com

There is also a very nice meditation booklet for Advent that allows us to journey with the Pope of Christian Unity, B16, through this season. It has been made available by the USCCB here. This is how it is being advertised:

Advent & Christmas with Pope Benedict XVI

As a special spiritual gift this season, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is providing a downloadable book of scriptural reflections for Advent and Christmas featuring the words of Pope Benedict XVI from homilies, speeches and other addresses during his papacy. The 37-page document includes a scripture quote and a reflection from the Holy Father for every day of Advent, which begins on Sunday, November 28, 2010, through the 7th Day in the Octave of Christmas, December 31, 2010. "Advent & Christmas with Pope Benedict XVI" is a preview of the upcoming publication "A Year with Pope Benedict XVI," which will be available soon from USCCB.

Download PDF

I hope you enjoy :-)