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First Sunday of Advent
28 November 2009
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
Dear Friends in Christ,
Advent (from the Latin verb venire, to come) has a two-fold character: a season of penance in which we ponder Christ’s glorious coming as our judge at the great and terrible Day of the Lord and a season of joyful expectation as we prepare to celebrate at Christmas Christ’s coming among us as the Son of Mary. But between Christ’s first coming as the Babe of Bethlehem and his final coming as the King of All Creation, He comes to us in Word and Sacrament to strengthen us in holiness. It is this middle coming of Christ in Word and Sacrament that fills us with the grace of His first coming and prepares us to face without fear His final coming, and all who confess Christ as Lord must draw near to Him in Sacred Scripture and in the sacred liturgy to receive the abundant blessings of His love.
As we begin the new Year of Grace today, I urge every member of this parish family to resolve now to spend time every day with the Word of God revealed in the Holy Bible. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, “all the Christian faithful” should “learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 3:8) by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.’” (DV,25). To become a mature disciple of Jesus Christ demands direct personal knowledge of the Bible from diligent study and devout prayer, and there is no substitute for this encounter with the Word of God. Simply going to Mass and listening to the homily is not sufficient; each and every man, woman, and child baptized into the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is called to know, love, and obey the revealed Word of God in Sacred Scripture.
One means the Church employs to unfold the Scriptures before us and extend the fruits of the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist is the praying each day of the year of the Liturgy of the Hours. Seven times each day (Matins, Lauds, Vespers, Compline, and the three little Hours of midmorning, midday, and midafternoon) the Church lifts her voice to sing the praises of God in the Psalms and Canticles of the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office. Priests, deacons, and religious men and women are bound to this daily prayer by solemn promises, but all Christians are invited by the Church to join their hearts and voices to this ceaseless sacrifice of praise. On each of the four Sundays of Advent, we will celebrate Solemn Vespers here in the church at 4 pm, and everyone is invited to join us for thirty minutes of peaceful prayer. Please come, and bring a friend, to prepare for Christmas by joining the Church in prayer through the joyful singing of Holy Scripture in expectation of the Lord’s advent.
Father Newman