First Sunday of Advent!
First Sunday of Advent!
On December 1, First Sunday of Advent, we start a new liturgical year, year C. This year we will be reading from the Gospel of Luke. Once Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "The purpose of the Church's year is continually to rehearse her great history of memories, to awaken the heart's memory so that it can discern the star of hope. It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us, memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope."
Advent is the season of Hope. On May 9, 2024, Pope Francis announced the 2025 Jubilee year by reading the Jubilee’s papal bull of indiction, which is titled “Spes Non Confudit,” which means “Hope Does Not Disappoint” (Romans 5:5). The Jubilee year – Year of Hope – officially begins on Christmas Eve by the opening of the Holy Door of the St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope writes in his letter, “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1).”
Pope continues in paragraph 3, “Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Rom 5:19). That life becomes manifest in our own life of faith, which begins with Baptism, develops in openness to God’s grace and is enlivened by a hope constantly renewed and confirmed by the working of the Holy Spirit.” He teaches in depth the need to grow in this Jubilee year, and he closes his letter with these words, “May the power of hope fill our days, as we await with confidence the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and glory, now and forever.”
Let us begin this Advent, the season of hope, to grow and renew our faith to celebrate Christmas and to begin the Jubilee Year of Hope. During Advent, four candles are lit each week. Their light represents Christ himself, who is the light of the world. We light the candles gradually throughout Advent because we know that the joy of salvation doesn't come fully into our lives all at once. Our life is a journey, a relationship with Jesus that has to be constantly renewed, just as a new candle is lit each week.
In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah (33:14-16), the Lord promises a future king for Israel once again. God says, “I will raise up for David a just shoot,” a descendant of David. We know that the continuity of kings from the house of David was interrupted by the Babylonian captivity. However, the line of David will culminate with the coming of the Messiah. This promise of a son of David coming in future days opens the reading for Advent, immediately calling attention to Jesus’ coming as a fulfillment of God’s promise of covenant fidelity to David and his house.
The First reading tunes to the First Coming, of course, is the coming of the Child at Christmas: the coming of the Saviour, Emmanuel, God with us. He comes as an infant, born in a humble village in Bethlehem. And this is God’s coming into history.
The Gospel reading (Luke 21:25-28; 34-36) tune to the Second coming of the Lord. The second coming of Christ will be accompanied by signs and culminate in the Final Judgment. The sign may frighten people, but Jesus promises us: in the midst of the darkness on the edges of despair, when it seems that all is lost, and the world as we know it has been torn asunder, lightning in the skies, fire on the earth, then Jesus says to us: “On that day, lift up your heads, for your redemption, your healing, is at hand.”
There will be signs, but no one knows the precise time of the end of the world, so we must always be ready by growing in prayer and charity. During Advent in 2018, Pope Francis said during Angelus, "Advent invites us to a commitment to vigilance, looking beyond ourselves, expanding our mind and heart to open ourselves up to the needs of people, of brothers and sisters, and to the desire for a new world."
We don’t have to worry because something already happened in the meantime. What is it?
During Advent, we meditate deeper into the reality of incarnation. A child was born in Bethlehem – a house of bread – laid in a manger – where animals were fed – fed thousands of people who were hungry – told us, “I am the living bread” – many were forgiven, healed, liberated, raised - instituted Eucharist and told them about the Sacrifice on the Cross, Resurrection, Ascension and promised Holy Spirit and told them, he will come back again. He is with us always; he continues to feed us at the Eucharist and continues to heal, liberate, forgive, and send us out to share with others. In this season of Advent – the season of Hope – let us meditate on His first Coming – Christmas, and constantly prepare for His Second Coming.
Congratulations: I take this opportunity to congratulate our Confirmation Candidates, Sponsors, Parents, and catechists as Candidates proclaim their commitment. During their final months of preparation, let us join them in prayer. Confirmation is on April 30, 2025, at 6 p.m.