Sunday, November 20, 2011

11/27/2011 – Sunday - Homily for first week of Advent – Cycle B - Mark 13:33-37 -


        Today is a very big day for us in the Church in the United States, a big day for our parishes here in Yazoo City and Belzoni.  It is the first day that we have our new English translation of the New Roman Missal, an event we’ve been anticipating for over a year.  Today is also the beginning of Advent and the beginning of our Church’s liturgical year.   Advent is a time when we prepare for the coming of Jesus into our world at Christmastime.  Yet, if we don’t start preparing our hearts and our lives for Jesus’ birth, what significance will Christmas have in our lives?
         Advent is a time when we look at the signs all around us that will help us prepare.  So, what is the message that Jesus gives us today on this first Sunday of Advent?  Be watchful!  Stay alert!  We don’t know the exact hour when the master will return.  It may be in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  We need to stay awake, so when that time comes, we will be ready, we will be prepared.
         The signs, the symbols, and the rituals that we have all around us during this holy season of Advent, during this season of preparation, will help us stay awake, to be prepared, to help us be ready for Christ’s arrival into our world at Christmastime.  One of the symbols that will accompany us during this holy season is the Advent wreath. We always have an Advent wreath in our Catholic parishes here in the United States during the season of Advent, and I know that many families also have the tradition of lighting an Advent wreath at home.  I even have an Advent wreath in my rectory.   We have probably been very familiar with this symbol from our earliest memories of Christmas from our childhood, but perhaps we don’t know a lot about the Advent wreath and its history. The custom of the Advent wreath has its origins in pre-Christian times in Germany, when people would gather together evergreens and light candles in the midst of them in order to ward off the darkness of the wintertime and to show the world a sign of hope that springtime would soon come.  Catholics in Germany adapted this tradition into their Christian faith; by the early 16th century, the Advent wreath had become a strong symbol of Christ’s coming at Christmastime.  The circular shape of the wreath symbolizes for us that God has no beginning and no end.  The live, evergreen branches symbolize the eternal life that we have in Christ and the immortality of our souls.  The four candles on the wreath symbolize the light of Christ that penetrates the darkness of our world.  The purple color of three of these candles symbolizes the penance, conversion, sacrifices and change of heart that are all a part of our journey through this holy season. The rose color of one of the candles represents Guadete Sunday that we celebrate on the third Sunday of Advent, the half-way point through our Advent journey.  The rose candle is a symbol of the joy that we feel in the midst of our preparations for this Christmas season, of the way that we will rejoice at the time of Jesus’ birth.  Each Sunday during Advent, we will light a candle on our Advent wreath, which will be accompanied by a prayer, showing the progress we are making this Advent season, showing that we are getting closer and closer to the day of Jesus’ birth. 
         As we are told to be watchful and to be alert, Jesus is preparing us for when he will come again in glory, but he also tells us that we will never know the exact time when the Son of Man will come back.  As we hear this reading on the first week of Advent, the coming of Jesus the Christ into our world, to be born in a manger in Bethlehem, is being connected to Christ’s return after his death and resurrection.  As we begin the time of preparation during Advent, we receive the message that the events of Christ’s birth are inseparable, that one is intrinsically connected to the other.  God’s story of salvation is to be heard loud and clear as we make our preparations during this holy season. 
         As we watch for the signs of this season, as the rituals and symbols help us along our journey, Advent will truly become a holy and meaningful time for us in our journey of faith.  

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