May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
Today we begin the season of Advent, and we begin a new
liturgical year. The year of grace,
2012, and all of its joys and sorrows are now commended to the mercy of God,
and today we begin again. The liturgical
year begins with the season of Advent, which is a season of preparation. The vestments of the priest and the deacon
are purple showing us that this is a time both for preparation and a time for
conversion. In the Christmas season, we
will see the white vestments signaling the joyful celebration of the birth of
Christ. During the season of Lent we
will again see the purple of penance and conversion. The Easter season is celebrated in the
brilliant gold and white fitting for the celebration that Christ Jesus is
raised from the dead and lives forever.
In Ordinary Time we see the green that signals for us a time of growth
as we hear the teaching of Christ and come to know the heart of Christ. In every season we are invited to a deeper
relationship with Christ. In this Advent
season, we are invited to prepare to welcome Jesus Christ.
In our readings today we are called to prepare to welcome
Jesus Christ as the one who fulfills the promise made long ago. Our reading from the prophet Jeremiah calls
us to recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of David. The Lord who is to come will bring justice
and peace. In him we will recognize both
a king and a good shepherd. In this
Advent season, we are called to prepare to welcome Jesus Christ as the gift
promised to us at the dawn of creation.
Our reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians
calls us to prepare to welcome Jesus Christ as the model of holiness. We see in Christ Jesus the one who loves
without measure. The life of Christ is
life that is lived as a total gift to the Father. It is also a life that is lived as a total
gift to his people. Christ Jesus lives forever
giving himself completely to us so that through him, and with him and in him,
we can be given completely to the Father.
In this Advent season, we are called to prepare to welcome Jesus Christ
as the one who will teach us how to love.
In our reading from the Gospel of Luke we are called to
prepare to welcome Jesus Christ who teaches us how to watch and to wait. During the Advent season our readings invite
us to prepare to welcome the return of Christ in glory and to welcome his birth
at Bethlehem. During the first half of
the season of Advent we are called to watch and to wait for the day of
redemption. Our reading from the gospel of
Luke warns us of the signs and wonders that will accompany the return of the Lord.
We are called to be vigilant in our prayers and vigilant in our anticipation of
the glory of the Lord. Attentive as we
must be to the needs of each day, we are invited to keep our focus on the
unending day of eternal life. In this Advent
season, we are called to prepare to welcome Jesus Christ who calls us to wait in
joyful hope.
My dear brothers and sisters, we begin our new year of grace with
a time of preparation and conversion. We
are called to prepare to welcome Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the promise
of the Father, as the model of perfect love and perfect holiness for us, and as
the one who calls us to await his coming in joyful hope. As we now celebrate the fulfillment of the Lord’s
promise in the mystery of the Eucharist, we celebrate the new beginning that the
Lord offers to us today. We ask for the grace
to recognize the gifts of the Lord as he reveals them to us. And we ask for the gift of joyful hope as we prepare
to welcome Jesus Christ.
Come Lord Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church, Monroe, NC
