Fr. Simon's Letter - December 3, 2023

With Christmas on a Monday this year, our Advent season of preparation is the shortest it can be. Looking ahead, since the fourth Sunday of Advent is on Christmas eve, we have made some adjustments to our usual schedule. On the fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24, we will have only THREE  Masses in the morning, at 7, 9 and 11am, so that we will have time for the last-minute decorations in the sanctuary. 

Nevertheless, Advent looks back in order to look forward. The celebration of the first coming of Christ in the stable at Bethlehem has meaning and purpose because of hope and expectation of his second coming on the clouds of glory. Christmas is not simply a celebration of an event that occurred some two thousand years ago. This first coming of Jesus Christ includes his birth, public life and ministry, his death and resurrection and his continuing presence among us. This is what we celebrate in the Church’s liturgy, especially the Eucharist; it is also at the heart of Christian mission which sees Christ present in every person, tribe, people and nation, as throughout the whole of creation. Advent is an effectual preparation for what is to come.

As such, Advent begins in penitence. Its color is purple, the symbol of preparation and forgiveness. We reflect on our lives, and realize our inadequacies. However, we do not remain focused on ourselves, for Advent calls us to look joyfully to God, who is coming to complete his salvation. Advent hymns and readings are thus full of joyful expectation of his imminent second coming. Yet it is important to remember that we do not know the day nor the hour. Advent candles and Advent calendars count down towards Christmas Day, but the Advent season enjoins us not to put preparation off to tomorrow but to be ready now.

During this season of Advent, I invite you to give yourself the gift of a few moments each day to pray with your family around the Advent wreath. The long hours of darkness may overwhelm us, so I invite you to gather with your family to light a candle and offer a prayer of hope for ourselves and our world, so that the coming of the Savior may bring comfort and joy to our ailing world. 

When you light a candle, I invite you reflect on the words of Howard Thurman (see the next page) or you may simply light a candle and sit either with eyes closed or just watching the flame dance on the candle. Waiting. Quietly waiting for God to speak to you.

This is what Advent is all about. Listening to the quiet in our hearts, waiting for the whisper of God. Isn’t this what we do as we wait for the wonder of Christmas, the birth of Christ? Isn’t this what we have been doing for centuries as we await the return of Christ at the end of times? Wonderful waiting! Listening!

Blessings!!