Advent 2021

“ Be Vigilant- Christ will come again!”

I’m taking the liberty to extract from the introduction by Most Reverend Thomas J. Gumbleton in the book, Biblical Meditations for Advent and the Christmas Season, by Carroll Stuhlmueller, C.P., to share a few of his points on the Advent Season. This first volume of a 5 part set of books was published in 1980 and still speaks to us today.

In his introduction, Bishop Gumbleton says:

“Many are turning to Sacred Scriptures each day for their daily prayer and finding it more and more a way of integrating their very active lives with at least the beginnings of genuine contemplation.”

“You might not thinks it is necessary. You wouldn’t think that we needed any help to remind us that the Lord is coming, that he’s just around the corner, waiting, watching, silent. But let’s face it- all of us need reminders. All of us need an open hand and a kind voice bidding us to come and see.”

“When I come to think about it, I know that all of life is an advent, a waiting for something we’re not completely sure of, but which we want desperately, as much as life itself.”

“But we are not good waiters. We’re not used to it…..Waiting has become an obsolete enterprise for so many people. But not for all. Children’s excitement builds while they’re waiting. Expectant mothers wait for nine long months within their bodies and within their hearts. The elderly wait for spring and often wait to die. All of these experiences, and many more, can teach us something about the good that can come from waiting.

“…Advent shows us how to wait., not with anxiety but with hope and anticipation….Advent is never a disappointment. The waiting is good, but it is never better than the event of Christ’s birth. Our expectations and our hopes are never dashed by his coming. As the people of the Old Testament waited and were finally rewarded, so are we.b