Yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King. This feast ends the 2018 liturgical year and we look forward to starting the new liturgical year on 2nd December 2018 - the First Sunday in Advent. To prepare well for this season leading the Christmas - the birth of the Savior - Please take this time to understand what is Advent and its importance as us Christians prepare for the coming of our Savior on Christmas.
Advent comes from the Latin word meaning "coming." Jesus is coming, and Advent is intended to be a season of preparation for His arrival. While we typically regard Advent as a joyous season, it is also intended to be a period of preparation, much like Lent. Prayer, penance and fasting are appropriate during this season.
Advent is not as strict as Lent, and there are no rules
for fasting, but it is meant to be a period of self-preparation. The purple color
associated with Advent is also the color of penance. The faithful should fast
during the first two weeks in particular and receive the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
The color of the Third Sunday of Advent is rose. This
color symbolizes joy and represents the happiness we will experience when Jesus
comes again. The Third Sunday is a day of anticipatory celebration. It is
formerly called "Gaudete" Sunday; gaudete means "rejoice"
in Latin.
Finally, Sundays during Advent, just as during Lent,
should not be given to fasting, but instead to celebration because we celebrate
the resurrection of Our Lord every Sunday. It is important to remember,
however, there are no particular rules for how the laity should observe Advent.
Why is Advent Important?
Preparation for Christmas is an important theme for
Advent, but more is involved. Advent gives us a vision of our lives as
Christians and shows us the possibilities of life.
The vision of life that Advent gives us is twofold; it
looks back to the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem, and it looks to the
future when Christ will come again. In the interval between these two events we
find meaning for our life as a Christian.
First we celebrate Christ-become-human. We view his life
and experience his presence as a human being in our history. Christ came to
show us what life can and should be. He gave us true and valid principles by
which we can live true and valid lives. But Jesus knew that the human heart
could not live in isolation. He formed the Church around the concept of a
people held together by love. In that community we discover unlimited
possibilities and meaning. Alone we can do nothing. Together we find real
meaning.
When Christ left this earth, he did not abandon us. He
remains with us in his Spirit, the Church, the sacraments, the Scriptures and
each other. He lives in community with us and keeps his vision of life before
us.
When Christ comes again, his presence will no longer be
hidden behind the signs and symbols of the liturgy or the words of the
Scriptures. His presence among us will be revealed in all its fullness, a
presence that will never end, a presence that will perfect and complete our
community.
This is the "greater significance" of Advent.
In these few short weeks we take in the sweeping panorama of time - from
Christ's birth to his Second Coming. The season of Advent brings us the
magnificent vision of life and hope for the future given to us by Christ.
Advent is our time to become more involved, more caught
up in the meaning and the possibilities of life as a Christian community. Thus
we are preparing not only for Christmas but also for Christ's Second Coming.
This means that when he comes again, we will be awake and watchful. He will not
find us asleep.
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