We haven’t begun to sing carols during Mass yet, and Christmas doesn’t officially start for us until Midnight Mass. We are, however, in the first week of Advent, and the theme was the promise of Jesus’ coming – for us today, the promise of His second coming, whenever that turns out to be.
It is also time to start this Advent’s ‘Walk with Me‘ book, which opened with the call for us to be ‘holy’. What does it mean to be ‘holy’, and how could average people like us ever hope to achieve that? Well, the Pope says that being holy consists of living our lives with love, and ‘bearing witness in everything we do’. He also wrote in Gaudete et Exsultate that ‘God wants us to be saints and not settle for a bland or mediocre existence’.
For most of us, this is a very difficult undertaking, as we’re faced with the temptations, frustrations and problems that come with being in the world. However, maybe we could see those challenges as a journey to develop the attributes of holiness, as we take on the challenge. I think the trick is to push ourselves to follow our conscience and stand for what we believe is right, no matter how much we’re tempted to act on impulse, self-interest and even cowardice.
The section dealing with the first week of Advent is titled ‘Holy Longing’. I think it’s appropriate for our times. Some might be yearning for renewal, meaning, the spiritual and something better in their lives. Some might be yearning for stability and direction when the world around them seems uncertain. Maybe there are others who want all those things.
Jesus has promised He will come again, but I believe that it’s something that requires a change of heart to manifest itself in the world, a real effort to achieve holiness. After all, every person is a participant in God’s ongoing act of creation, and everyone has therefore a part to play in bringing about the coming.
By the by, I was chatting to some Mormon missionaries earlier this evening, and their church is running a ‘Light the World’ programme over the advent period to encourage people to manifest Jesus’ love through acts of kindness. Whether they realise it or not, it’s a message that’s empowering because it has real potential to transform the world around us in a subtle but very real way.
A Catholic Commentarium 