In Advent, Christians relive a dual impulse of the spirit: on the one hand, they raise their eyes towards the final destination of their pilgrimage through history, which is the glorious return of the Lord Jesus; on the other, remembering with emotion His birth in Bethlehem, they kneel before the Crib. The hope of Christians is turned to the future but remains firmly rooted in an event of the past. In the fullness of time, the Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary: "Born of a woman, born under the law", as the Apostle Paul writes (Gal 4: 4).~ Pope Benedict XVI
First Sunday of Advent, 27 November 2005
First Sunday of Advent
Renewing the HOPE
Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy...
From today's Gospel - Luke 21:34
"Jesus, ... the Eucharist is the sacramental testimony of Your first coming, with which the words of the prophets were reconfirmed and expectations were fulfilled. You have left us, O Lord, Your Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine that they may bear witness to the fact that the world has been redeemed - that through them Your paschal mystery may reach all men as the Sacrament of life and salvation. The Eucharist is at the same time a constant announcement of Your second coming and the sign of the definitive Advent and also of the expectation of the whole Church.
When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim
Your death, Lord Jesus, until You come in glory.
Every day and every hour we wish to adore You, stripped under the species of bread and wine, to renew the hope of the call to glory. Amen."
Pope Bl John Paul II
The wise and foolish virgins - Jan Adams Kruseman (1848)
When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year,
she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah,
for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first
coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second
coming. By celebrating the precursor’s [St. John the Baptist's]
birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire:
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah,
for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first
coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second
coming. By celebrating the precursor’s [St. John the Baptist's]
birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire:
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Advent season resources
* Hat tip to Greg Smisek
Saints.SQPN.com: Learn more about the saints of Advent,
including the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec. 8 and 12),
Baptist,
St. Lucy (Dec. 13).
Tradition Day by Day: Writings of the Church Fathers and others saints
Short readings for every day of the year
Doxaweb 2010 Advent Calendar (starting Dec. 1 — it’s not just for kids)
(Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio)
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