We have reached a new beginning, the first Sunday of a new liturgical season, Advent. Every year the Church leads us through the different liturgical seasons.
The first season is Advent, followed by Christmas.
After Christmas we have a few weeks of what is called Ordinary Time. Then we begin the season of Lent, which leads into the Easter season. And with Pentecost, we get back into Ordinary time. Each one of these liturgical seasons has its own meaning. They have special days, celebrations, and traditions. They even have special colors. Taken all together, the seasons of the liturgy are a spiritual tour. The Church is the tour guide.
Why does the Church insist on taking us through this yearly tour of salvation history?
Why do we have to revisit the same celebrations and seasons every single year?
The first reason behind the liturgical seasons is negative, and the second is positive. The negative reason is simply that the Church doesn’t want us to forget about what’s most important in our lives.
The second reason behind the liturgical seasons is more positive.
The seasons are designed to help us grow in grace. During each liturgical season, as we turn the attention of our minds and hearts to the different truths of Catholic doctrine and events of Christ’s life, our souls receive fresh nourishment and enlightenment. The liturgical seasons help us grow spiritually. As we go through life, the truths of our faith stay the same, but we change. And so, every time we revisit them, we see new aspects of them.
God always has something fresh to say to us, and he says it through our contemplation of his Son, Jesus Christ. Each event in Christ’s life, celebrated through the liturgical seasons, is a flowing fountain of wisdom, and every time we go back to it, we are refreshed and strengthened anew; we grow in grace.
Advent is about the coming of Christ: his first coming two thousand years ago, his future coming at the end of history, and his present coming in our lives today. Our job during this month before Christmas is to focus our attention on that, to pray about it, to reflect on it, to let it touch our lives. But we don’t have to wait until tomorrow to start our Advent activities: we can start right now, with this Mass.
Christ will come to us during this Mass, faithfully entering into our lives through the Eucharist, just as he entered into the world at the first Christmas. Let’s make sure he finds plenty of room in our hearts, in our life and in our families.