West Bend, WI – We are now in our second week of Advent, so it is worth reminding ourselves the purpose of this season.
The name Advent comes from the Latin phrase Adventus Domini which means ‘the coming of the Lord.’Hence, Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. In Scripture, there are two times in which the Lord Jesus Christ shall come to his people.
The first is when the Lord took on human nature, was born on Christmas Day, and dwelt among us. The purpose of this was to save us from our sins as we say in the Creed, ‘and for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man’.
The second coming of the Lord will occur on the last day when our Lord returns to judge the living and the dead as we say in the Creed ‘He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end’.
The goal of the liturgical season of Advent is to teach us how to prepare for the coming of the Lord. We hope that by learning to prepare for the Lord’s arrival as a merciful savior on Christmas Day, we may also learn to prepare for the Lord’s second coming at the end of time to judge the living and the dead.
The goal of the liturgical season of Advent is to teach us how to prepare for the coming of the Lord. We hope that by learning to prepare for the Lord’s arrival as a merciful savior on Christmas Day, we may also learn to prepare for the Lord’s second coming at the end of time to judge the living and the dead.
This makes Advent a time of penance, prayer, and almsgiving. Indeed, Advent is supposed to be a mini lent. This is why we do not sing the Gloria during Advent. We are recalling the penitential nature of Advent.
In my own spiritual life, whatever penance I am going to do for 40 days in Lent, I do for the season of Advent. This gives me an opportunity to ‘try–out’ the penance on a smaller
scale before the major penitential season of Lent. We should also make sure that we get to confession at some point during the Advent season.
scale before the major penitential season of Lent. We should also make sure that we get to confession at some point during the Advent season.
Furthermore, it is wise to take up some sort of spiritual practice of prayer based upon the season. Just as we pray the stations of the cross during Lent, during Advent we can pray
with the infancy narratives of Christ in the 2nd chapter of Luke or the 1st chapter of Matthew.
with the infancy narratives of Christ in the 2nd chapter of Luke or the 1st chapter of Matthew.
Finally, while prayer and fasting are good, they should always be joined with almsgiving. So, we should ponder some way in which we can give to those in need. This can be material gifts, or even spiritual gifts such as visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead or consoling someone in need. In this way, we thoroughly prepare for the Lord on Christmas Day so like the magi we may offer to the Lord the incense of prayer, the myrrh of penance, and the gold of almsgiving.
