I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for Advent – that beautiful time when the Church kicks off a whole new liturgical year with a period of reflection and preparation for the coming of the Christ child at Christmas.
It’s wonderfully counter-cultural to take these weeks of quiet, prayerful preparation when the rest of the world is going mad with parties and shopping and busyness.
Mind you, I still enjoy Christmas parties and sharing gifts with others and all of that, but as Christians, we get to counter-balance all of that activity with this call to prayer, repentance, and preparation.
It’s not a period of rest, mind you, but more of quiet attentiveness to where God is in our life and where he might come. In fact, on the first Sunday of Advent, we hear the clarion call from Jesus to “Stay awake!” and to pray.
Attentiveness to God’s presence in our lives can take many forms. Perhaps it does mean a reinvigoration of our prayer life. Or maybe it means encountering Jesus in a more attentive way in the people we meet, the poor, the marginalised. It can even mean just listening more to our elderly relative or someone we perceive to be lonely.
If we stay awake to the possibility of encountering Jesus in our day, we are likely to find him in all kinds of places.
In Advent, we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Prince of Peace, both right now and at the end of time.I pray that in these few shorts weeks before Christmas you and I will be awake to Jesus’ presence in our lives and also awake to the opportunities for us to become Christ for others.
As we draw deeper into prayer, may that prayer unite us with the God who loves us and also with his people, especially those who may not know love, or feel excluded from friends or family at this time.
Let’s use this sacred season to slow down, reflect and prepare for the season of joy which is to come, with all the fanfare of Christmas.
“Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen.” (Luke 21:36).
Yours in the Word,
Fr Henry Adler SVD
Provincial.