GREAT ADVENTURE ^_[1]

UNCERTAIN MEMOIR

1.  Our parish Church is a loving mother. Gathering her children in her arms, she invites them to share the good things of the home she has prepared for them. The joy she feels in her heart endures, because the society of her home reflects the first family of the Blessed Trinity, and her household images the Father’s heavenly abode of many rooms.  [cf. Jn 14:2]  “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,” says the Lord, “for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”  [Mk 10:14] 

2.  Children, therefore, are a wellspring of spiritual vitality pouring itself out to renew the life of the Christian community. We rejoice to behold a multitude of children in the many rooms of our parish Church each Sunday. Our children are delightfully intelligent, bursting with life, and overflowing with goodness. Intensity, inquisitiveness, innocence—these attributes of childhood are signposts of conversion for the people of God. “Truly, I say to you,” says the Lord, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  [ Mt 18:3]

COLLECTIVE WISDOM

3.  Thus, at every opportunity, the boys and girls of our parish reveal to us the marvelous revelation of Christian faith. Their very presence in our midst compels us to seek greatness in humility, strength in submissiveness, and fulfillment in sharing. What love our merciful Lord Jesus Christ has bestowed on our parish! That children are devoted to the Season of Advent is understandable. The story of Jesus' birth is a fountain of never-ending wonder and awe in their lives. They marvel that the Son of God willed to be born in a stable under the radiant light of a star.

4.  Because a child, by nature, eagerly anticipates the future, he intuits that Our Lord’s nativity at Bethlehem is inseparable from his own humble origins and, more importantly, his human destiny. When boys and girls are given the opportunity to share their knowledge with one another, they quickly discover that their collective wisdom far exceeds that of any one member of their group. With patient and firm spiritual guidance, they may grow in the knowledge of God and learn to live a holy way of life. Keeping in mind, then, that all of our older parish members are to walk in the way of spiritual childhood, our Divine Lesson for today explores the meaning of Advent in the Catholic Church.

CONSISTENT AND INSISTENT

5. What, then, is Advent? Advent marks the true beginning of the Christian Church year, heralding an intense season of anticipation commencing at the time of solemn vespers (Evening Prayer) on the Sunday that falls on or is closest to November 30th and closing with solemn vespers on the Vigil of Christmas. The Advent season is typically four weeks in length. Why does the new Church year begin on the first Sunday of Advent instead of January 01st? Each new year of grace begins in anticipation of adventus Christi, the coming of Christ. Mysteriously, the Church anticipates the coming of one who has already arrived.

6.  The Church eagerly awaits the return of her betrothed in glory even as she commemorates his humble birth in Bethlehem’s stable. We must remember that the Church's tradition offers an important message to the people and nations of the world. Whether one is devout in the practice of religion or lives only for the sake of consumption and pleasure, he hears a consistent and insistent message: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”  [2Cor 6:2]  God has marked this generation to account in judgment for the coming of Christ in truth and power! What is human history in comparison to God’s majestic and mysterious plan of salvation, if not an uncertain memoir of hope punctuated by civil strife and perennial neglect of the poor and suffering of society.

PANORAMA OF DIVINE MERCY

7. This said, the capacity of the human person for self-reflection loses its meaning if contemporary man forgets that his personal once upon a time story is an integral part of God's living and eternal salvation epic. God's time (Gk. kairos, kainos) knows no past, present or future. For God, unapproachable and unmoved by the least conditioning factor--no matter how plausible the contrary may appear to the human intellect)--the past is never ending, the future is eternally present, and the present is forever. All are one and the same; all process in perfect harmony; in their unsurpassable excellence, all redound to God’s perfect and unknowable being.

8.  God's time is apprehended by man as the panorama of divine mercy, the unbounded expanse of prodigal love which he has reserved in abundance for all who turn to him with repentant hearts. Not surprisingly, Advent conveys a spiritual posture. Christians must resolutely face the future with excitement and hope while, at the same time, glancing back to ardently relive the events of Christ's nativity which occurred two thousand years ago. How this wayward world needs Jesus Christ in every generation! How the children of God long to “see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”!  [Mt 24:30]  Hence, as the Church prepares to celebrate the nativity of the Lord, she eagerly awaits his return in glory when on that day “the earth will wear out like a garment”  [Isa 51:6]  and “the skies roll up like a scroll”  [Isa 34:4]  and the angel shall blow the trumpet and human time vanishes.  [cf. Mt 24:31]

COSMIC MOMENT

9. Would it not be wise, then, to use well the precious time that God has given you? To contemplate the birth of Jesus Emmanuel in prayer and scriptural meditation? You will discover that Our Lord's birth in Bethlehem--a cosmic moment apprehended in human time--stands quite outside the boundaries of the temporal order. Far from being startled as if by the intrusion of a foreign body, man’s faith perceives in the incarnation of Jesus Christ the love of God that surrounds him always, a love that knows no beginning or end. Consider, too, that the saving merits of Christ's passion, death and resurrection are an image of God’s eternity. To receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Sovereign Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is to partake of the same eternal Truth, the same living Spirit, and the same redemptive Grace as did the apostles who shared the one loaf and the one cup with Our Lord Jesus the night of his Passover.

10.  You can count on this: The regenerative power of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross will never cease. Thus the vindication of the Lord is firmly established in the uncertainty of the present moment. Where is the Kingdom of God situated? Here, in this sacred Church! When is it manifested? Now, in this season of Advent! The consummation of the divine plan is anticipated in every genuflection, profound bow and prayerful Act of Hope. All divine events are held in balance within the eternity of God, the Alpha and Omega  [cf. Rev 1:8]  who Himself knows no beginning or end. The origin of our word advent makes reference to the paradox of awaiting the arrival of one who has already come into this world “that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”  [Jn 9:39]

ADVENTUS CHRISTI

11. The word advent derives from the Latin advenire meaning to come, emphasizing as it does an eschatological event of glory which has not yet taken place. A familiar form of the word is adventus which means coming. In this sense, the people of God anticipate Christ's return in glory, having been alerted that this event was set in motion in saecula saeculorum. (Lat. in the ages of ages) The people of God long for adventus Christi, the coming of Christ into their lives and making his dwelling among them. They yearn for the unhindered presence of Christ in their hearts. Hence, to capture the essence of the holy season, one must discover the synchrony between adventus Christi as an Act of Hope and discovery as the fruit of adventure.

12.  Why is Jesus' birth so important? If we understand the spiritual meaning of our own birth, perhaps we may better appreciate the spiritual significance of Christ’s birth. The birth of every child into a family changes that family forever. So it is with the coming of Christ. When he entered into the world, the whole human family was changed forever for the good. When Christ our Lord comes again in glory, he will destroy Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness, all his (evil) works and all his empty promises.^[2]  Our Lord, who destroyed the power of death on the cross, will destroy all remnants of suffering and death forever.

FAMILIAR PLACES

13. Christ himself invokes paradox by prophesying the fall of one who has already fallen: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."  [Lk 10:18]  Prophesying his own glorious return, Jesus says, "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man."  [Mt 24:27]  Why does Our Lord employ the imagery of lightning with respect to himself and even Satan? Christ, the Son of the Father, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is light itself and the origin of all light. Significantly, the Son of Man compares himself to light that encircles the earth. His divine light will enfold our earth on the last day.  [cf. Jn 12:48] 

14.  When Christ appears in glory, every human being on earth will behold him simultaneously. All humanity--believers and non-believers--will be bathed in his light, a purifying fire without beginning nor end, the purity and holiness of which will shine brighter than ten-thousand blazing suns. We speak of light as the glory which originates in God. In the beginning, God granted to Lucifer the Archangel a magnanimous participation in his light. But Lucifer, angrily anticipating the hour of his prostration before Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of the Father, rebelled against God and conspired to become God's equal.  [cf. Gen 1-3]

FRUITFUL JOURNEY

15. Therefore, God thrust Lucifer from heaven like lightning; he fell to the earth and into the nether regions of the world never again to dwell in heaven. Moreover, the Evil One is barred forever from traversing the Holy Way: "the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there."  [Isa 35:8-9]  The Evil One has no power but that of deceitfulness; "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."  [2Cor 11:14]  

16.  Soon this raging lion  [cf. 1Pet 5:8]  will forfeit what little he has. Fortunately, God has decreed from the beginning that the horror of sin need never overwhelm man's impressionable soul. Every human being embarks on a journey that commences at the moment of conception. Advent is the point at which the fruitful journey begins for Holy Mother Church. Remarked a prudent writer of the last century:

WE MUST begin where we are, for many people the heavy responsibilities of home and family and earning a living absorb all their time and strength. Yet such a home--where love is--may be a light shining in a dark place, a silent witness to the reality and love of God. We must begin where we are, but once we have put ourselves and our lives into God's hands, to be used as he wills, and when and where, we must be on the alert, peacefully busy, but inwardly watching for signs of the will of God in the ordinary setting of our lives. 

TO EARS which have been trained to wait upon God in silence, and in the quietness of meditation and prayer, a very small incident, or a word, may prove to be a turning-point in our lives, and a new opening for his love to enter our world, to create and redeem.^[3]

HOUR OF HOPE

17. The great adventure of salvation history starts with the first Sunday of Advent and offers an entire year of breathtaking experiences. That our divine Lord was born as man and submitted himself to the experience of all things human but sin is the banner story of the season. The first two Sundays of Advent highlight Christ's return in glory. The last two Sundays emphasize Christ's incarnation as man and the importance of Mary as Mother of God and Mother of the Church. Consequently, the people of God are called to advertise the meaning of Advent and earnestly advise family members and friends to participate.

18.  What, then, is our mission as Catholics? We prepare the world. We tell everyone that Our Lord is to be found in familiar places; he desires to make his home in our hearts. We announce the great works of God's Holy Spirit. Seek the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart! It is Emmanuel (Heb. God with us) who will lead you to his heavenly Father. Make ready to celebrate the great holy season of Christmas. The hour of the Lord's holy nativity is the hour of hope. It is the fulfillment of our cherished belief and the gracious response of God to a world ensnared in darkness.

 ^[1]  Cycle A   /First Sunday of Advent   /Isa 2:1-5   /Rom 13:11-14   /Mt 24:37-44.    

 ^[2]  Cf  THE RITES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,  "Rite of Baptism for Children",  vol. 1,  no. 57  (New York: Pueblo Publishing, 1990)  385-386.    

 ^[3]  Olive Wyon, excerpted in THE HIDDEN TRADITION,  ed. Lavinia Byrne  (New York: Crossroad, 1991)  72.