Today is a very big day for us in the
Church in the United States, a big day for our parishes here in Yazoo City and
Belzoni. It is the first day that we
have our new English translation of the New Roman Missal, an event we’ve been
anticipating for over a year. Today is
also the beginning of Advent and the beginning of our Church’s liturgical
year. Advent is a time when we prepare
for the coming of Jesus into our world at Christmastime. Yet, if we don’t start preparing our hearts
and our lives for Jesus’ birth, what significance will Christmas have in our
lives?
Advent is a time when we look at the
signs all around us that will help us prepare.
So, what is the message that Jesus gives us today on this first Sunday
of Advent? Be watchful! Stay alert!
We don’t know the exact hour when the master will return. It may be in the evening, or at midnight, or
when the rooster crows, or at dawn. We
need to stay awake, so when that time comes, we will be ready, we will be
prepared.
The signs, the symbols, and the rituals
that we have all around us during this holy season of Advent, during this
season of preparation, will help us stay awake, to be prepared, to help us be
ready for Christ’s arrival into our world at Christmastime. One of the symbols that will accompany us
during this holy season is the Advent wreath. We always have an Advent wreath
in our Catholic parishes here in the United States during the season of Advent,
and I know that many families also have the tradition of lighting an Advent
wreath at home. I even have an Advent
wreath in my rectory. We have probably been very familiar with this
symbol from our earliest memories of Christmas from our childhood, but perhaps
we don’t know a lot about the Advent wreath and its history. The custom of the
Advent wreath has its origins in pre-Christian times in Germany, when people
would gather together evergreens and light candles in the midst of them in
order to ward off the darkness of the wintertime and to show the world a sign
of hope that springtime would soon come.
Catholics in Germany adapted this tradition into their Christian faith;
by the early 16th century, the Advent wreath had become a strong
symbol of Christ’s coming at Christmastime.
The circular shape of the wreath symbolizes for us that God has no
beginning and no end. The live,
evergreen branches symbolize the eternal life that we have in Christ and the
immortality of our souls. The four
candles on the wreath symbolize the light of Christ that penetrates the
darkness of our world. The purple color of
three of these candles symbolizes the penance, conversion, sacrifices and
change of heart that are all a part of our journey through this holy season.
The rose color of one of the candles represents Guadete Sunday that we
celebrate on the third Sunday of Advent, the half-way point through our Advent
journey. The rose candle is a symbol of
the joy that we feel in the midst of our preparations for this Christmas
season, of the way that we will rejoice at the time of Jesus’ birth. Each Sunday during Advent, we will light a
candle on our Advent wreath, which will be accompanied by a prayer, showing the
progress we are making this Advent season, showing that we are getting closer
and closer to the day of Jesus’ birth.
As we are told to be watchful and to be
alert, Jesus is preparing us for when he will come again in glory, but he also
tells us that we will never know the exact time when the Son of Man will come
back. As we hear this reading on the
first week of Advent, the coming of Jesus the Christ into our world, to be born
in a manger in Bethlehem, is being connected to Christ’s return after his death
and resurrection. As we begin the time
of preparation during Advent, we receive the message that the events of
Christ’s birth are inseparable, that one is intrinsically connected to the
other. God’s story of salvation is to be
heard loud and clear as we make our preparations during this holy season.
As we watch for the signs of this
season, as the rituals and symbols help us along our journey, Advent will truly
become a holy and meaningful time for us in our journey of faith.
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