Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus”, which means ‘coming’ and for the Holy Church, advent refers to the Lord’s coming or “God comes” stated in the present tense so as to emphasize its ever-continuous action – it happened, it is happening and it will happen again in whichever moment – as mentioned by Pope Benedict XVI in his homily during the celebration of First Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent on December 2, 2006. The Roman Catholic celebration of Advent covers God’s humble act of taking on our humanity when he entered our time and space and His glorious return at the end of time. And since Christmas is just around the corner, I would like to place a dominant note on the Church’s invitation to the faithful to reflect on the humble birth of our Savior, who, stripped of all material trappings and comfort, brought us the priceless gifts of life, hope and redemption – gifts that should matter to us the most.
Unfortunately, it has been observed of late that Roman Catholics experience the greatest dissonance during the Advent season … between spirituality and commercialism; between our beliefs or values and actions. There is a constant struggle between upholding what we believe is right, noble or fair, on one end, and doing what would give us the greater benefit, the greater advantage, on the other, – like a tug-of-war between giving and having; between sharing and getting; between gratitude and discontent. In effect, we have given advent a new meaning, one that is not complete without the sparkling Christmas decors, the expensive presents and the sumptuous meals – definitely, a far cry from what it originally stands for.
Let us therefore, through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, pray for wisdom and humility to return to that simple, dilapidated manger where the true meaning of Advent took the form of our one true Life, Hope and Redemption, in the child called Emmanuel, which means, God is with us ... right here, right now.
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