ADVENT INCREASES OUR HOPE, A HOPE THAT DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. THE LORD NEVER LETS US DOWN.

POPE FRANCIS

The month before Christmas is a special time for Catholics. It is the first month of the Church’s year.

We call it the Season of Advent, meaning ‘the coming.’ Christ comes among us, born of Mary. He will come again in glory at the end of time to bring the fullness of God’s Kingdom. He comes among us every day, if only we will see. We find it difficult to live in the present, perhaps because it so quickly becomes the past. To live fully in the reality of today is not easy. Our minds tend to linger in the past or hide in the future. Thoughts of our misremembered yesterdays and imaginary tomorrows distract us from the here and now.

This season of Advent ‘mixes memory and desire.’ We wait for the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus, recalling what happened two millennia ago. Our waiting for the birth of Christ somehow links us with those who waited long for that day and missed it when it happened. And it reminds us that we wait for Christ to come again and raise us and all creation to His Kingdom. Yet He also comes to us today, if only we would notice. May this time of Advent be an opportunity for you to pause and spend time in reflection. Reflect on the time of year and the year that has gone so quickly.

From: Firewood for the soul, A Reflection Book for the Whole Vincentian Family
St. Vincent de Paul Society, Queensland, Australia.
Text by: Samantha Hill.