First Sunday of Advent C

·        After Thanksgiving today first Sunday of Advent we start a new liturgical year, the year C, the year of Luke.

1.                   1. What is Advent?

·        The word Advent comes from the latin word adventus that means coming. Yes during Advent we celebrate the first coming of the Lord, the Jesus birth in Bethlehem, the incarnation of the word of God and we prepare ourselves with hope for the second coming of the Lord and during this time, between these two “comings” the Church lives in a constant Advent of the Lord, who is comes every day trough the Holy Spirit upon us: in his word, he acts in his sacraments, he knocks our doors as a poor or a sick asking for our compassion. Yes, in Advent we celebrate that Jesus came, comes and will come again, this is the faith and hope of Advent.

2.    How should we live Advent?

·        As we said Advent is a time of Hope, Joy and Peace, it is a time of preparation and it is amazing how rich is our faith, our religion, how many symbols and objects we use in the liturgy in order to express these realities of our faith, everything has an special meaning in the Liturgy.

·        And during Advent we used some of them. For example: The Advent wreath, the candles, the violet color, Let us see what they mean in order to know more about Advent and specially to know how to live Advent.

·        The Advent Wreath is the symbol of HOPE, its form it is a circle, represents the eternity of God, the Alfa and the Omega, that He has come and He will come again, as we say every Sunday to judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end. We Hope in him, we hope that one day we will see Jesus, face to face that on that day all our sufferings and distresses will end, that our perseverance and fidelity will be rewarded and that our happiness will be forever, this is our Hope.

·        The candles, they are the best expression of our JOY AND EXPECTATION, for the coming of the Lord. Light always represents Jesus why they are four? Why we light today just one? It means that Advent is a journey to the light of Jesus.

·        And finally, Advent is also a time of PEACE, but the real peace that comes from a clean conscience and a pure heart. This is what the purple or violet color means, this color is a symbol of repentance, penance and preparation, it expresses our desire to return to God. You know during the year we walk with Jesus, celebrating the mysteries of his life, from the incarnation, his birth day, crucifixion, resurrection and we finish, like last Sunday with the solemnity of Christ the King, the day when He will reign over all the creation and over all the hearts, but during the journey, maybe we have passed with the same experience that Mary and Joseph passed, when they lost Jesus in the Temple one day, yes the Holy Virgin and Joseph, they lost Jesus for three days! It could be the same for me and for you, and maybe we have lost Jesus for more than three days… as the Lord says today “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life…” Yes maybe because our anxieties, problems, distractions, temptations and sins, we have lost Jesus on the way, on this year and you know this is the time, this is the season as lent, when we can find Jesus, to recover Jesus again and walk with Him at his side again.

Brothers and sisters we hope in God, but don’t forget that the Lord also hopes in us, what does the Lord hope from us? A New conversion, maybe the real one, the best one of my life, and this the day, the season, the Grace is at hand. Prepare your hearts, purify your hearts, let us meditate, make a balance of this year, see your report and be honest, how was my relationship with God, with Jesus and with my neighbors?

Advent is a new beginning, not only of this new liturgical year, advent could be a new beginning in my life, in my relationship with Jesus and this is our hope and joy. That in Advent we can begin again, we can ask the Lord to forgive us and to give us a new opportunity to follow Him, to serve Him and to love Him with more fidelity on this year.

May the Lord bless you, bless your families, prepare your hearts and help you to live a very intensive and joyful Advent, to receive Jesus