LUKE 21:25-28, 34-36
JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES, “BEWARE
THAT YOUR HEARTS DO NOT BECOME DROWSY FROM CAROUSING AND DRUNKENNESS
AND THE ANXIETIES OF DAILY LIFE, AND THAT THAT DAY CATCH YOU BY
SURPRISE LIKE A TRAP. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT ADVENT IS ALL ABOUT. NOW
IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT
WITH CAROUSING OR DRUNKENNESS, BUT THE ANXIETIES OF DAILY LIFE ARE
ANOTHER MATTER. YOU KNOW THE FEELING; YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING WITH
A PLAN, BUT BEFORE TEN O'CLOCK YOUR PLAN IS ON THE SHELF WHILE YOU
COPE WITH THIS OR THAT INTERRUPTION; AND BY THE TIME THE DAY IS OVER,
YOU HAVEN'T REALLY DONE WHAT YOU SET OUT TO DO. SOME PEOPLE ARE
PERHAPS MORE ORGANIZED OR MORE SINGLE-MINDED AND GET DONE WHAT THEY
PLANNED TO DO; BUT EVEN THAT CAN BE A PROBLEM, BECAUSE THEN EACH DAY
IS JUST A SERIES OF TASKS, TASKS THAT NEVER SEEM TO HAVE AN END. AND
A YEAR GOES BY, AND ALL WE HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT IS THAT WE ARE OLDER.
ALL THE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS, THE LOSING WEIGHT, THE STARTING AN
EXERCISE PROGRAM, THE PLAN TO SAVE A LITTLE MORE MONEY AGAINST
RETIREMENT – IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AND THE OLDER
YOU GET, THE HARDER IT IS TO CHANGE YOUR HABITS.
ADVENT IS PLACED RIGHT AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE CHURCH YEAR. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A TIME WHEN WE
ANTICIPATE, WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT SINGULAR EVENT WHICH CHANGED
ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY. CHRISTMAS CELEBRATES JESUS' BIRTH OF COURSE,
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT CELEBRATES THE INCARNATION, THE FACT THAT
GOD BECAME A HUMAN BEING SO THAT HE COULD SHARE HIS DIVINITY WITH US.
SO HOW DO WE CELEBRATE ADVENT?
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, SOME PEOPLE
CALLED ADVENT “LITTLE LENT” AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID – GAVE UP
CANDY, USUALLY, JUST LIKE WE DID IN LENT. IT DIDN'T HELP THAT THE
PRIEST WORE PURPLE VESTMENTS IN BOTH SEASONS. BUT LENT IS INDEED A
TIME OF PENANCE, OF REPENTANCE, OF EXAMINING OUR LIVES AND
CONFRONTING OUR SINS. ADVENT IS A TIME WHEN WE “STAND ERECT AND
RAISE OUR HEADS BECAUSE OUR REDEMPTION IS AT HAND”.
SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO PICK SOMETHING
TO DO EVERY DAY TO REMIND OURSELVES WHAT SEASON WE ARE IN AND THAT WE
ARE WAITING FOR GOD TO COME INTO OUR LIVES IN A NEW WAY. AND THE
BEST THING TO DO IS TO ADOPT A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE THAT IS DONE EVERY
DAY. THIS WILL SERVE TO REMIND YOU OF THE ATTITUDE YOU ARE SUPPOSED
TO HAVE – AN ATTITUDE OF WATCHFULNESS, OF ANTICIPATION, OF BEING
PREPARED.
HERE ARE SOME IDEAS: READ THE GOSPEL
OF LUKE. IF YOU READ A CHAPTER A DAY THERE ARE 24 CHAPTERS. OF
COURSE THE LONGEST ADVENT WOULD CONSIST OF 27 DAYS, BUT IF THERE ARE
EXTRA DAYS, YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED TO CATCH UP ON CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
OR SOMETHING – OR GO BACK AND READ THE STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION
AND BIRTH OF THE LORD OVER AGAIN.
ANOTHER IDEA: FIND A GOOD BOOK THAT
YOU CAN READ A BIT AT A TIME – A BOOK FOR SPIRITUAL READING. DIG
OUT THAT BOOK THE PARISH GAVE YOU LAST YEAR THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE
OPENED YET, OR IF YOU'VE READ IT, IT MIGHT BE WORTH READING AGAIN;
JUST REMEMBER TO READ A LITTLE AT A TIME, JUST SO YOU READ SOME EVERY
DAY.
YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT THE ROSARY. WE
DON'T APPRECIATE THE ROSARY. LOTS OF CATHOLICS ARE ATTRACTED TO
MEDITATION, SOMETIMES TO YOGA; BUT THE ROSARY IS A UNIQUELY CATHOLIC
EXERCISE. THE TWENTY MYSTERIES WALK US THROUGH THE LIFE OF MARY,
JESUS AND THE EARLY CHURCH – THAT IS THE KERYGMA, THE SUBSTANCE OF
WHICH HAS BEEN PREACHED FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS OF THE CHURCH. ITS
THE SAME THING PAUL WAS TALKING ABOUT, WHEN HE SAID, “AS FOR ME I
PREACH CHRIST, AND HIM CRUCIFIED.” AS YOU SAY THE HAIL MARY, THE
PRAYER STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE, CONSISTING OF THE ANGEL'S GREETING TO
MARY AND ELIZABETH'S GREETING TO MARY HER COUSIN, AS WELL AS A
REMINDER THAT MARY IS INDEED THE MOTHER OF GOD, A TRUTH ACKNOWLEDGED
BY THE EARLY CHURCH AGAINST MUCH CONTROVERSY, YOU HOLD THE IMAGE OF
THE MYSTERY IN YOUR MIND'S EYE. QUIET YOUR HEART AND LISTEN AND
SOMETIMES THE LORD WILL SPEAK. AND IF YOU CAN'T BRING YOURSELF TO DO
A WHOLE ROSARY EVERY DAY, TAKING TWELVE TO FIFTEEN MINUTES, THEN DO A
MYSTERY AND A DECADE – BUT DO WHATEVER YOU DO EVERY DAY.
DAILY MASS WOULD BE A GREAT EXERCISE.
WE ARE SO LUCKY AT SAINT MARY'S. WE HAVE CHOICES. THERE ARE PLACES
WERE YOU CAN'T GET TO DAILY MASS; THE PARISH MIGHT HAVE MASS ONLY TWO
OR THREE WEEKDAYS. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PARTICIPATING IN THE SUM AND
SUMMIT OF CHRISTIAN LIFE MORE OFTEN THAN JUST ON SUNDAYS.
FINALLY, THINK ABOUT ADORATION. THINK
ABOUT JOINING YOUR FELLOW PARISHIONERS BY BEING PRESENT WHEN THE
SACRED HOST IS FORMALLY HONORED ON TUESDAYS. GIVE THE LORD AN HOUR
OF YOUR TIME ONCE A WEEK. AND IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU DO; IF YOU
ARE PRESENT TO HIM, THAT'S A GREAT BEGINNING. LET HIM SEND HIS
HEALING GRACE TO YOU.
SOME OF YOU ALREADY DO SOME OR ALL OF
THESE THINGS. OTHERS DON'T DO ANY. BUT THE POINT IS TO ADD
SOMETHING TO YOUR DAY DURING ADVENT SO THAT YOU CAN ENTER INTO THE
ANTICIPATION TO WHICH THE CHURCH CALLS HER CHILDREN. AND ASK THE
LORD FOR THE STRENGTH TO ESCAPE THE TRIBULATIONS THAT ARE IMMINENT
AND STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN.
