Advent … Absolute And Almighty!
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It seems we are always waiting for something. What are you waiting for? We wait for a better day; we wait to find the perfect person to share life with, our children to grow up, a paycheck or the day we can retire.
Waiting is not an appealing word; it can be tiring, and we often run out of patience before the moment of expectation arrives. We give up, and never fully enjoy what we were waiting for in the first place. What if you were waiting for something that could change the world? How would you prepare for it?
The Advent Season is full of anticipation as we await the birth of the infant Jesus. If you prepare for the season with absolute truth, your spiritual life will be strengthened. Absolute is a name for God, the Supreme Being, that which is complete and perfect. He gave us the gift, which changed the world in the birth of His son. Saint Teresa of Avila tells us that the spiritual process of preparing ourselves inwardly can bring “doubt to certainty and fear to love.” God alone is enough. “…to Him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:4_.
There will be a “Second Coming” and a last judgment. As Catholics, we profess in our Creed that Christ “will come again to judge the living and the dead.” The Second Vatican Council's "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church" states, "Already the final age of the world is with us and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect" (No. 48).
Only our Heavenly Father knows the when, what and how of this Second Coming and last judgment. Various passages in Sacred Scripture confirm how the Church has interpreted this, and they are unified. We have much to prepare for, and it is more important than a list of shopping items, cards or packages to mail, gifts to wrap or cookies to bake. Returning the unconditional love God has given to us must be a priority during this waiting period – not just during the Advent Season, but every day! A soul who believes knows that Christ is the way and the truth.
Advent is a season of hope. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines hope as the “theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
By the virtue of hope, we trust God to provide all that we need for our personal growth in holiness. Mary is the greatest model of hope; her response to the Archangel Gabriel was, “Let it be done according to your word.” When we offer ourselves totally to God as Mary did, we renew our hope in God and His plan in our own lives. The birth of the Christ Child is a beautiful opportunity for His life to be born anew in us. Come, Thou almighty King! Amen!
