After the great solemnity of Christ the King, we march with anticipation and in spirit of preparation into the Advent season. The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Church’s Liturgical Year. The Advent season includes the four Sundays and weekdays leading up to Christmas. Advent is a season of renewed anticipation for the second coming of Christ.

In our gospel reading today, Jesus warned us that people will ‘die of fright in anticipation’ of His coming because not only does it signal the end, but also it will be time for judgement when the good and the bad will be rewarded accordingly. Dying of fright in anticipation could be good or bad, and this depends on our level of preparation. If we are anticipating well His coming, with spiritual vigilance and prayer, we will be longing with joy for His coming. The Lord Himself urges us to ‘stand erect and raise our heads because our redemption is at hand.’ Because of this blessed assurance, we cannot let the coming of the Lord catch us by surprise. The season of advent affords a great opportunity to prepare for the celebration of the anniversary of Christ’s birth in anticipation of His second coming. This yearly celebration of our Lord’s birth on Christmas is a good reminder that His second coming is no longer a prediction but a reality, which holds a lot of good for us. We know that even amid the anxieties and tribulations of this present life, the Lord is with us.

During the Advent season, the liturgical colors change to purple or violet [except for the Third Sunday of Advent when the priest is allowed to wear rose colored vestment] and the church wear a modest decoration, which signifies the penitential aspect of our preparation for the great feast day of our Lord’s Nativity. Through penance, we discipline our hearts and quiet ourselves in order to enter into a closer relationship with our Lord and rise above the anxieties of daily life.

As a parish community, we are going to ‘hit the ground running’ in our Advent preparation with our Parish Mission and Penance Service from Dec. 3-5 @ 7PM. Make an effort to join this three-day retreat as we prepare together for the great feast day of our Lord’s birth in joyful anticipation of His second coming, so that we will be ready ‘to stand before the Son of Man.’

 

Fr. Martin