God is like an eternal rock, like a powerful city with walls and ramparts that protect its citizens. God humbles the arrogant and the haughty, but he offers protection to those who have humble hearts. I think we all can relate to the image of building our lives upon a solid foundation, of being firm in the values of our faith. Perhaps sometimes we want to give up or run away amid the harsh and challenging reality of our lives. However, we must not forget that God is with us every step of the way, that God will not abandon us. If we have faith in that sound foundation, we will stand firm.
Here in the US, when a building is 100 years old, we consider it rather old. If it is 200 years old, we consider it ancient. Many areas of our country don’t have a lot of of older buildings. However, when I walk the pilgrimage route of the Camino in Spain, I often visit churches that are 800, 900, or 1000 years old. Pilgrims have been hiking the route of the Camino for almost 1200 years. It amazes me how solid these old churches can be, how they have stood up throughout the centuries in war, revolution, and natural disasters. Our Church and our Catholic faith have stood firm through many wars and movements, through opposing philosophies such as Communism, gnosticism, the Enlightenment, and humanism.
The season we started this week, Advent, comes from the Latin word “Adventus,” which means “coming.” We prepare throughout the four weeks of Advent for the Nativity of the Lord at Christmas. We are to stand firm in our faith, to look into our hearts at the ways we need to renew and change. Advent is a preparatory season in which we look forward to something greater than ourselves. Let us ask Christ to accompany us on our Advent journey during these holy days, to help us change and reform our lives, to be firm in our faith.
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