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The First Sunday in Advent |
Taken and adapted from "With Christ
through the Year" by Strasser
Temporal Cycle – The Proper of the Time
The Christmas Cycle
- Preparation: Advent
Before a traveler makes a trip, he studies descriptions of the road, maps of the route, everything that pertains to his planned journey. The Christian would do well to make a comparable study of the ecclesiastical year before entering on it.
Advent, from the Latin adventus, meaning coming or arrival, is the name given to the period of preparation for Christmas, for the coming of the Christ Child. It is as if we are climbing a mountain to the very top. It is called our Christmas Mountain and it is a time in which our path ascends. It means a period of effort and exertion, for the season is not an idle one for the one who loves God.
The idea of preparation calls for purification. It will include cleansing, a removal of all things that would be an obstacle to receiving Jesus. The season of Advent, is therefore, a serious one for we prepare for the Coming of the Son of God.
In the first step of our spiritual house cleaning, we try to rid ourselves of sin, which cannot abide in the presence of God and we try to make up for our past sins and the sins of others, too. We begin Advent with a good Confession. Then we should work out a simple plan of daily prayer and penance and good works.
The Church regards Advent as a time for penance. This is clear because she clothes her priests in violet vestments. Those who attend the Tridentine Mass will see even more indications of the penitential nature of this season. The Gloria is omitted from Mass, the organ used to be silenced and the altars are undecorated.
The Church forbids marriages to be solemnized during this time and urges us to refrain from unnecessary amusements. This is not a time for parties, caroling and feasting. It is a time of fasting and prayer. As serious lovers of Jesus we must follow the direction of the Church and see to it that the weeks of Advent correspond to this.
Advent is the preparation for the three-fold coming of Christ: it remembers His first coming in time, it prepares for His mystical coming into the hearts of men now, in the immediate present, and it looks forward to His final coming in the general judgment at the end of the world.
In its commemorative phase, Advent reminds us of the time before the birth of Christ, that long period of 4000 years in which sinful men waited for the long promised Messiah. Those centuries are symbolized by the four Sundays of Advent, which represent the four ages of the Old Law 1) the time from Adam to Noah 2) from Noah to Abraham 3) from Abraham to Moses 4) from Moses to Christ.
So Advent is a reminder to us of 2 things: of a terrible misfortune, the sin of Adam and Eve, which left the stain of Original Sin on all their descendants and kept them from going to heaven; and second, of an unimaginable blessing, the coming of the Son of God to atone for the sin of our first parents and to make redemption possible for every man until the end of time.
In anticipation, Advent also looks forward and prepares for the final coming of Christ in the general judgment at the end of the world. In the Liturgy of Advent the Church frequently anticipates this Second Coming called the "Parousia or "Presence" of Christ to all men on the last day. Advent warns us to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child NOW so that His Second Coming will have no fears for us.
But there is another coming of Christ, His coming into our hearts on Christmas Day especially in our Christmas Holy Communion and in all the graces He brings especially at Christmas. In fact, Christmas will be very sad unless we are ready to receive Him with pure souls, filled with love and thankfulness for what Jesus did for us when He came to this world. We do this through prayer, penance, good works, spiritual reading and keeping the feasts and Liturgical days of this season. During Advent we strive to imitate the example of the 3 main figures of Advent: the longing of Isaias, the penance of St. John the Baptist, and the purity of Mary. The most important mood of our soul in this season is joy; it is the joy anticipated on the Third Sunday of Advent (Guadete Sunday) by St. Paul when he says: "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice…for the Lord is near." (Phil. 4:4)
An Outline of the Ascent of the Christmas Mountain:
Christmas Mountain, Part 1: The way leads upward, it is the act of
climbing, the preparation period for the coming of our Redeemer, known as
Advent. It is made up of three full weeks and four Sundays: within the week
following the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Christmas is celebrated. The Feast of the
Immaculate Conception of Mary, kept on December 8 usually falls between the
second and third Sunday. The Vigil of Christmas (Christmas Eve) should be a day
of voluntary fast and abstinence in preparation for the great gift of God the
Son on Christmas Day.
