Advent: Giving 2020 Back to God

Advent

The end of the year is coming quickly, and with it, the season of Advent. Advent begins on Sunday, November 29, just one week from now.

Advent marks the beginning of the Church’s liturgical year, and encompasses the four Sundays (and weekdays between) leading to Christmas, on December 25. Per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), “The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas.” It is traditionally experienced as a season of waiting – and hoping.

Liturgical seasons under lockdown

Back in March and April, I hoped that Lent and Easter would be the only liturgical seasons we would endure under a pandemic-induced lockdown. Most of the US experienced weeks and months without the sacraments, or in some cases, the ability to even enter a church.

Yet, here we are: entering another holy season that is not quite as it should be. In my own church, we are still wearing masks, sitting in every other pew, leaving time between Masses for sanitation, and operating with extremely limited community outreach, services, and events. For now, at least, we are still able to have Mass, though that may change if the local or federal government steps in and decides to shut down churches again this winter.

It makes one wonder: what is the point? Why bother with the ceremony and observance of a liturgical season, Advent, when we do not really have the freedom to worship and serve as intended?

The year 2020 has called on each of us to trust God in new and deeper ways. The uncertainty of unemployment, the strain on home life and mental health, health scares, the precarious balance between safety and civil rights, an election taking on a life of its own – if you have any gray hair at the end of this year, you’ve earned it.

And just as with the rest of 2020, Advent this year will be an opportunity to further live that lesson of trust in God. Rather than throw in the towel at the end of a challenging year, we have the opportunity to be faithful to Christ, in both words and actions, and renew our relationship with God for 2021 – whether it becomes a “better” year, or not.

Advent as a time to reflect

If you’re like me, you may spend the last few weeks of the year reflecting back. You could say it’s like an examination of conscience for a calendar year. I reflect on the different seasons – what was I experiencing, thinking, hoping? What did I do, or not do?  Where did I go, and not go? Where could I have been better? Further, how did I respond to losses, trials, frustrations, and things that went my way?

Reflecting on this year, I see an opportunity to hand over any regret, grief, or sense of injustice to God, particularly during this season of Advent renewal. After all, everything is His will, and He has allowed this strange year to be, even if I do not understand it. I am reminded that God often sends blessings in disguise, and that everything He allows is an opportunity to learn and grow. To choose to be faithful to God, His teachings, and what is asked of us as Catholics, is to work toward something good, rather than to stay in desolation, disappointment, and a sense of loss or even entitlement.

Many of us have gotten very good at waiting this year. Allow Advent, a season of waiting, to be an opportunity to recommit to your relationship with God. We are not called to love and serve Him just when times are good. The true test of our faith is how we respond to Him when things are challenging. Finish this year strong by observing Advent intentionally. And if it seems hard, ask Him in prayer to show you the way.

Celebrate Advent

During Advent we think about the coming of Jesus, the light of the world. Advent is the perfect season to make an active movement toward God, and away from defeat or hopelessness.

I have written before about how, practically, to celebrate Advent. This year, I have purchased Bishop Barron’s Advent reflections book and have organized a few friends for a virtual weekly study. I think I may splurge and buy an extra fancy chocolate Advent calendar (as opposed to a $5 CVS version), because, why not?

Other things you can do include lighting the traditional Advent wreath, a timely symbol of pushing back against the darkness. Organize a mini retreat at home, guided by the bevy of online spiritual resources. So many more have popped up this year, as people have turned online for events and education. The Pray More Novenas Advent Retreat is just one example.

If you do not already, set aside time each day to pray. Live in that silence with God. To the extent you can, continue to serve others – give toys and coats, adopt a family, donate to a food kitchen. You may even be able to find an in-person opportunity. And if you have to spend Christmas alone, these opportunities to serve are the perfect antidote to loneliness. As Bishop Barron recently reminded us, “Industry is the enemy of melancholy.”

O come, o come, Emmanuel

I am reminded of the song we sing at Advent:

“O come, o come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appears.”

Have you at any point felt captive this year – perhaps exiled? We know how the story ends: Emmanuel, “God-with-us,” does come. Keep the faith. God is still among us, and he will be, every year, until the end of the age.

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4 thoughts on “Advent: Giving 2020 Back to God”

  1. Pingback: The Significance of Advent According to the Church - Catholic Stand

  2. Pingback: Finding Joy in Advent (Especially During Coronavirus) + Genuflect

  3. Pingback: 2020: THE YEAR OF SEEING EVERYTHING CLEARLY | ROMAN CATHOLIC TODAY

  4. “After all, everything is His will, and He has allowed this strange year to be, even if I do not understand it.”
    This phrase touched me deeply. Every time I turn around and want to yell and scream at God “how can you allow this, why don’t you do something?” I have to remind myself that everything is His will. It’s not for me to understand. It is to accept.
    Thank you for a beautiful piece.

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