Season of Advent

The idea of Advent is "Prepare you for the coming of Christ." Therefore the very appeals of the Patriarchs and Prophets are put in our mouths in Advent. Prepare for the coming of Christ the Redeemer, Who comes to prepare us for His second coming as Judge.

When the oracles of the Prophets were fulfilled and the Jews awaited the Messiah, John the Baptist left the desert and came to the vicinity of the Jordan, bringing a baptism of penance to prepare souls for the coming of Christ. The world took him to be the Messiah, but he replied with the words of Isaiah: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord."

During Advent we make straight for Christ the way to our souls--and behold, our Lord will come at Christmas.

Mysterium Fidei...An Ineffable Wonder

As we enter into the Advent Season next Sunday (November 29), perhaps the most important thing we can do is work on "recapturing" the mystery of our life with God (the one and only purpose of genuine Catholic liturgy)...the mystery of Emmanuel ("God with us")...the mystery of God's unbounded and unconditional love for us. Most things in our world conspire against us...against the sense of mystery...ineffable wonder, awe, and marvel. The kind of thing in which we can only marvel. We cannot understand it. We cannot truly "know" anything about it. We cannot explain it. We can only experience it. Yes, this Advent, let us work on "recapturing" the mystery of our faith, of our lives, of our existence..."for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Happy Advent!