Dear Friends,

Yes, dear friends, we are already in the second Sunday of Advent. Each year, this season offers us an opportunity to re-examine ourselves and turn away from sin in order to prepare to receive the birth of our Savior in a befitting manner. However, before I go into a bit of detail as to what we are called to do during this season, I would like to briefly share the meaning of Advent.

Originally, the word “Advent” was used by the pagans to refer to the “coming “of their god. On a fixed day each year, they would expose the statue of the said god, convinced that in this way, he would make his presence felt among them by handing out blessings and favors. The same word later came to mean the “visit” of a king to a city or the crowning day of a sovereign.

Later, Christians came to apply all these various meanings of the pagans to the “coming” of their God into the world through our Lord Jesus Christ, who was born a man like us. In this understanding, the word “Advent” came to be used specifically to refer to the period of time set aside to prepare for this “visit.” Unfortunately, with time, this preparation came to take a materialistic dimension as Christmas gradually came to mean a birthday feast, and Advent is the period we spend preparing for it by buying food, drinks, clothes, and gifts. It is enough to go to the stores these days, and this becomes immediately evident with the various commercials bombarding us with different items on sale. I was even blown away by the frenzy with which people were shopping this last “Black Friday,” possibly in anticipation of Christmas. This is exactly how the pagans prepared their feast of the “birth of the sun.” It is true we Christians, too, should rejoice, be happy, sing, and dance on Christmas, but this should not be the main aspect of it as it has become.

What should we do then, during Advent? The word of God that we shall be reading during the coming Sundays of Advent will remind us again and again that Jesus has not come just once. In fact, He keeps coming. He comes and is present at all cheerful or sad events of our life; He comes and is present in all that happens in the world and in the Church; He comes and is present in all those who spread new ideas, utter words of love, peace, and reconciliation, in those who strive to make this world a better place to live in. And that person should be you and me.

In spite of the reality of His coming in these various forms, unfortunately, we are often not ready to recognize him. We fail to perceive his presence in every event of our lives and are afraid that his message may upset us by demanding a radical transformation of our habits. Indeed, there is a greater need for the coming of Jesus into our lives today than ever before. There is a need to prepare for his coming and be ready to recognize him when he comes. We have to remember, however, that He cannot come, for instance, in a Christian community whose members are envious, jealous, divided, and speak ill of each other and do not help each other. He cannot come to a nation where citizens kill each other, where there is war, violence, injustice, hatred, grudges, and feuds. He cannot come where there is political polarization.

And so, Advent is a time when all these obstacles preventing his coming should be removed. It is a time for all the barriers to be pulled down and valleys filled up because all these prevent Christ from coming. That is why the readings of Advent particularly call us to be vigilant, to keep our eyes wide open in order to discover and prepare the ways that Jesus has chosen to come and free us from the evil by which we seek happiness only to end up provoking a lot of sorrow and suffering. Let us be vigilant! Happy Advent to you all.

I love you!

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