Advent

The Season of Advent Advent begins on the Sunday right after Thanksgiving. Applying the rule from the New General Roman Calendar: Advent begins with First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the Sunday that falls on the closest to November 30, and it ends before First Vespers of Christmas. Advent starts the new Liturgical Year and can be seen as another opportunity to spiritually begin anew. Holy Mother Church knows how many times we need to start again! There are particular themes in the Liturgy throughout Advent: a spirit of waiting, of conversion and joyful hope. These liturgical themes inspire what we do with the family or Domestic Church during Advent. One major theme of Advent is coming. The word "advent" means the arrival or "coming" of a notable person, thing, or event. In Latin, the word "Advent" had an intriguing range of meanings. Adventus is a form of the verb advenio which is defined not only as arrive, come to, but also as develop, set in, and arise. Adventus itself also refers to an invasion, incursion, ripening, and appearance—all denotations that are rich with implications for the gospel accounts of Christ. The relationship between adventus and military comings is especially noteworthy. In ancient Rome, Adventus was a technical term for the ‘glorious entry’ of an emperor into his capital city. Often this happened after a military victory. In addition to celebrating conquest on the battlefield, the birthday of the royal leader was also commemorated in an Adventus. Now it makes sense why the liturgical color of Advent is royal purple. Another major theme of Advent is waiting. It is not idle waiting, but waiting in a spirit of preparation. There are three ways we are waiting for the coming of Christ: in history, in mystery, and in majesty. In History: We recall the Old Testament waiting for the Son of God to be born at Bethlehem. In Mystery: We await Christ’s coming at Mass in the Eucharist and prepare for our reception of Him at Communion. In Majesty: Our true preparation of Advent is preparing our hearts for Christ for our final judgment at Parousia, the end of time “when God will be all in all.” These are the three comings of Christ that we contemplate during Advent. So often the emphasis is placed on Christ at Bethlehem, but if we listen carefully to the Liturgy there are also many eschatological reminders, urging us to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. Our waiting involves preparedness, just like the Wise Bridesmaids in the parable. We must keep our eyes on the coming of Christ and not end up without extra lamp oil.