ADVENT: The Season of Invites

We begin the Catholic Liturgical Year with the season of Advent. These are four weeks during which time we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the anniversary of the Birth of our Saviour. At the same time, we must enter into the haven of our souls to contemplate (and anticipate) the 2^nd Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of time. It is an inward journey that we must each personally make. In her wisdom, Mother Church offers us four traditional themes beautifully crafted in the Advent wreath, which extend to us several invites:

The Invitation to Wait

Advent is characterized by waiting…. a lot of waiting. I don’t enjoy waiting; yet, most times the Lord God asks me to wait. Waiting is not an easy task. Before us, some people waited for the Messiah for a long time. For some, it was for a lifetime. Many generations waited for centuries, without losing hope in the coming of the Messiah. The 1^st week of Advent encourages us to wait in hope. This is why we light the candle of Hope. To remind ourselves that we are God’s people, faithfully waiting for something greater than we possibly can ever imagine. We wait for things which no ear has ever heard and no eye has ever seen; things which only our God can do for those who wait for Him in hope (cf. Isaiah 64:3).

The Lord summons us to wait actively. Advent presents us with this opportunity to work in the fields as we wait. St. Matthew reports that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few (cf. Matthew 9:37). Yes, the seeds have been planted and watered over time. The harvest is now at hand. We are the workers. The Lord needs us to be willing to gather the abundance of the fields for Him. We work for Him in the fields of His earthly kingdom so that souls might live with Him in the eternal Kingdom.

Our work has only just begun. The Lord says that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (cf. Matthew 4:17). If we want to bring about His Kingdom, we must be ready to do it now. Advent invites us with our faults, deficiencies, denials, depressions, and whatever else holds us back, to go now without further delay. In these days we will wait in joyful hope for the Lord’s coming. Thus in the 4^th week, we light the candle of Joy.

The Invitation to Keep Watch

When the Lord comes, He should not find us sleeping (cf. Mark 13:37). We have to be prepared for a long watching. We must remain vigilant and yet expectant. He may come at any moment because we do not know the hour when He decides it is time. A time for what, you ask? A time to answer your prayer; a time to release you from some burden (emotional, financial, or otherwise); a time to give you that new job or promotion; a time to cure your illnesses; a time to gift you a life partner to start a new life with; and finally the time for His return in eternal Glory.

We must be physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared for the time when He comes. Therefore, pick up reading Scripture, take up your rosary beads and pray, receive the Sacraments, work on your repentance and go to confession, visit the Eucharistic Lord. Never mind how slothful you have been. This is the time that He calls you. Yes, He calls you just as you are – miserable, weak, shameful, burdened, and troubled. You are to just come in whatever state you are in because you can count on Him (cf. Psalm 9:10 & Philippians 4:6-7).

What’s more, Advent invites us to keep watch on ourselves. We are to beseech forgiveness and sincerely repent of our sins so that we may enter into the light of God’s mercy. Then will our hardened hearts be warmed by the healing ray of Light and once again become fleshly hearts (cf. Ezekiel 36:26).

The Invitation to Walk into the Light

The reading of the 1^st Monday of Advent (Years B & C) comes from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 2:1-5). It reminds us that the mountain of the house of the Lord is established. It is raised above the hills. Nations are invited to flow towards it. And we have started on our journey towards Bethlehem, knowing that the Lord God can and will do new things among His people. We endeavour to look out for, identify and follow the star that will guide us to the Light.

This is why Isaiah encourages us to arise and shine; that our light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon us (cf. Isaiah 60:1). We have plenty of opportunities to walk in the light so that we enter into the Light. When we walk into that Light, we will find the little child who will lead us, teach us and show us the way to our God. This Child will set us free to walk with hope in His light.

We strive to walk in the light of forgiveness and reconciliation. Thus, in the 2^nd week, we light the candle of Peace. With this lit candle, we go into the world bearing an inner peace that should be shared with all people of goodwill. We must beat our swords into plowshares and turn our spears into pruning hooks so that we bring peace into our life circumstances. This peace is to be found in the Prince of Peace (cf. Isaiah 9:6), who is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (cf. John 14:27). So, we walk in the light so that we may experience the Light.

The Invitation to a Childlike Faith

Advent presents us with the virtue of childlike faith. According to St. Mark, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it (cf. Mark 10:15). It is in having a childlike faith that we will receive the kingdom of God. During Advent, the childlike faith is what will fill us with the unshakable hope that comes Christmas, we shall surely experience heaven here on earth. But we must start small. Our faith must be honed and perfected every moment as we ponder the mystery of the Word that was made flesh (cf. John 1:14).

Imagine carrying the word of God and seeing the child Jesus nestled in your arms… You are carrying God in your arms! If you still cannot fathom this, remember that the Lord God keeps these things hidden from the wise and intelligent and reveals them to infants. “Why”, you ask? Because doing so is well-pleasing in the sight of the Father (cf. Luke 10:21).

So, we turn to Him and take our rest in Him, assured that the Lord does not change even though we often need to. Advent invites us to be steady in our faith, to have a constant trust in the Lord, to be unwavering and solid in our decisions. And Advent goes further and affords us those silent moments when we can sit on the shoulders of the eternal Rock.

The Invitation to Take Courage

It is widely understood that the words “be not afraid” or “fear not” appear 365 times in the Bible. Makes you think that this word of God is repeated this number of times to represent the number of days that the Lord strengthens us – every day of the year. Advent invites us to overcome fear and anxiety by beckoning us to come closer to our Blessed Mother. She heard these reassuring words from Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation (cf. Luke 1:30). We, too, find favour with God when we walk with our Blessed Mother. This is why we light the 3^rd candle – the candle of Love. The love we have in Christ is a love we cultivate with the Mother of our Saviour.

As St. Alphonsus Liguori teaches, we must rouse ourselves to greater confidence each time we turn to her for graces. We must remember her great desire to do us good. We must think about the power to obtain what she asks of her Son, Jesus. We must accept how deeply she cares for us. We must have confidence that she is always a beacon of hope when we are uncertain or when we face unnerving situations in life. Advent signals us to turn to her always because she inevitably leads us and points us to our Saviour and Master saying, do whatever He tells you (cf. John 2:5)!

The Invitation to Rest in God

The journey of Avent is a journey of being enlightened. Most times we want to walk in certainty, knowing where we are headed. We want to see clear landmarks and identify potential impediments ahead of time. This is our human way. God’s way is different. It illuminates one step at a time. The point is that we must learn to fully trust Him and confidently walk with and beside Him. We must learn to listen for His voice and hear Him say, This is the way; walk in it (cf. Isaiah 30:21). The Lord Jesus identifies Himself as the way, the truth, and the life (cf. John 14:6a).

Advent invites us to be in the present moment; to appreciate the here and now; to cast away our worries; to stop searching for what lies ahead; to leave behind what was lost in the past; to find our rest in being with Him. There should be no deterrents to the soul when we invite the Lord into our hearts. He surely will come and give us rest (cf. Matthew 11:28). Every day we must find solitude and enter into an interior peace. We will come to Him in humility and gratitude. Advent has chosen us to come to the Manger to find our rest in God. Here we shall experience the throne of Love.

The Invitation to the Table of our Lord

This time of preparation enables us to consciously see where we are spiritually. We notice our burden of sin. We are discouraged by our lack of faith. We are weighed down by the pain of life. But Advent bids us come, despite knowing that we are unworthy. We come in the trust that the One who has called us by name makes us worthy by forgiving our sins and through His love and compassion.

Advent invites us to the Table of the Lord in Bethlehem, the Breadbasket. Here we find bread and wine, the gift of God’s unending grace to repentant sinners. Advent prepares us to enter into the Banquet of the Lord, that we may receive His grace. Then we also extend this grace and forgiveness to one another. We freely and abundantly receive that which we also willingly give. So, we get to release all our hurts and sins into the loving hands of God. We hear His words of forgiveness and receive His acceptance of us. We must respond to this invite by opening our hearts out wide to those around us.

The Grand Finale

At the end of the season, we will light the 5^th candle which represents the Birth of Christ. The candle of Christ reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the world and we must follow Him. With Him, we will never walk in darkness because we have the true light of life. We walk with Him in the purity of body, mind, and spirit.

And we cannot forget the wreath that bears the candles. The greenery that you perhaps now see in your church in place of the traditional flowers that customized the Ordinary Time reminds us that the Lord God is in everything. The evergreen branches speak of His unending love for us. The circle of the wreath is the eternity of God.

TAKE HOME

Think deeply about what we are celebrating – The coming of the Lord Jesus, His Incarnation, His ongoing Presence with us in the Eucharist, His Return, His Glory in the future. If we so wish, we could make our every day an advent by practicing daily walking with God as Enoch did. The anxious desire we have for complete intimacy with Christ can be a daily advent experience. The wonderful blending of worry, awe, optimism, and joyfulness that come from the mercy and grace of God signifies the transforming love of the Holy Spirit. Living daily in hope and expectation can help us contemplate the true meaning of Advent.

Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life!