“Watch and pray … that you may avoid all that is to come and stand before the Son of Man” / Lk 21,361
We are experiencing the beginning of ADVENT once again – A NEW LITURGICAL YEAR IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. And although many Advent customs related to this period, which we still remember from our childhood years, have disappeared irrevocably here in exile, we still have the Spirit of Advent, the Spirit of Mission and Waiting. Just as children at school expect the end of classes and the beginning of the holidays, as we expect to meet with a loved one, with a long lost family; we also expect a future life, a life that is one long Advent.
The history of the chosen people, can be called a great Advent, full of expectation and longing. Each chapter and verse of the Holy Scriptures echoes this yearning and waiting. The best proof is found in the Advent readings: the longing of a nation deprived of its homeland, sent to captivity, is a symbol of the spiritual longing of the heart away from the source of love, peace and security. This cry for the Savior, for deliverance from the oppression of sin, is a plea for a Guide who will lead you safely to Heaven’s gates. The Advent prayer should be imbued with a spirit of deep faith. It is the main note of liturgical and life Advent, faith in the coming of Christ and his presence among us.
In the first letter of St. Peter, we read: “Watch! Your adversary, the devil, roars like a roaring lion, seeking someone whom to devour. Be strong in faith, resist him.” The evil spirit during our Advent life does everything to dissuade us from salvation, vigilance and faith. Sometimes you can hear the explanation: I don’t have time for faith, for prayer, for God … As if God was an addition to our lives; as if He was an “addition” to pre-Christmas shopping. As if the soul is an addition to our existence … when it is the essence of our person, and nothing else but the union of the soul with God in love is the meaning of our life. Jesus is life itself! So you must have time for him – anytime, anywhere! Since Advent is the start of the new church year. He tells us – Stop! It compels us to stop and reflect, to faith and vigilance, to prayer and spiritual preparation, to be ready not only for a proper Christmas experience, but to someday stand up “before the Son of Man”.
