Sundays Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalms 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; 1 Thes 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
From the Pastor’s Desk…
A Time to Wait and Hope.
We call Advent an “ardent time”, a time of contrasts. Advent begins the liturgical year, yet it is already speaking to us of the end of time. We prepare ourselves for the birth of Christ, His first arrival, yet we also listen to the announcement that prophesies His Second Coming as our Judge. We should live this time with our eyes wide open, expecting our final liberation.
Difficult times touch our lives. There are signs of despair – such as war, the hunger in the world, the underdevelopment, the poverty, and terrorism. Yet there are also signs of hope: Gestures of solidarity, and a preoccupation for justice and peace. We await with anticipation the birth of a new world that is more just, more human, more beautiful and at peace -for all-, as we all desire it. Christmas is His proximity and His intimacy with us. Christ continues to come to our heart through the Eucharist.
Jesus calls us to be awake and ready – to receive Him when He comes again; then we will announce His coming to all the people, so that the Church of Christ may extend throughout the whole world, to be consolidated and to continue entreating: “Come, Lord Jesus”.
It is a time of hope, of happiness, and of salvation. Also a time of waiting, of preparation and of effort. Through faith, it remains clear that God comes. Having hope is a symptom of life. Only the dead do not wait in expectation, and when one does not wait in hope, then that person has determined that life is not worthwhile. When all hope dies, then the vital impulse of life dies in the heart of man. He no longer lives, but “is left to live”. Nothing is more distressing than despair; and nothing is more positive and rejuvenating then to have a hopeful expectation for an anticipated event, especially if we know it is coming and that it will be extraordinary. Hope is not a deceitful illusion. The person that lives with hope, wants to take life seriously in its totality, since that person wants to discover all the possibilities that life offers for all person’s future.
Advent is a time of hope, a time to remove obstacles, a time to grow in maturity, and to banish our drowsiness, to learn to live on foot, with our head raised, looking attentively at the salvation that approaches. There does not exist a better preparation than that of living with a secure and an abundant faith that leads us, as seen by the example of Mary, to see in each event – the will of God.
May God bless you,
Fr. Oscar
