The One Who Comes

God is the “One who comes”: he came among us in the person of Jesus Christ; he comes again in the Church's sacraments and in every human being who asks our help; he will come in glory at the end of time. This is why Advent is marked by watchful and active expectation, nourished by love and hope, which expands into praise and supplication and is expressed in concrete works of fraternal charity.

-Saint John Paul II

According To His Promise

             

               My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant,

and from this day all generations will call me blessed.

The Almighty has done great things for me:

holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and has sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

-Luke 1:46-55

The Church knows this prayer as the Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat. With these words, the Blessed Mother gives thanks to God for His gift of love to her and to all of Israel. For the child in her womb is the mercy, the strength, the fulfillment, and the help they had been waiting for.  

The Magnifcat is the perfect Advent prayer. As Saint John Paul II said, Mary’s “words convey the hope-filled expectation of the ‘poor of the Lord’ and at the same time an awareness that God has fulfilled his promises, for he ‘has remembered his mercy.’”

Take Time To Breathe

This past Sunday, Pope Francis reminded children gathered for the traditional “Bambinelli Blessing” to pray unceasingly. He said:

Prayer is the breath of the soul...It is important to find moments throughout the day to open the heart to God, even with the short and simple prayers of the Christian people.

The Church gives us Advent as a time to catch our breath, so that we may open ourselves to the God who is always coming for us. Let us heed Pope Francis’s advice then, and give moments to prayer each day as we prepare for Christmas. 

Mount Of Olives

A fragment of earth seen through leaves,

through the thicket of time, at last through the brook

that covers the bottom of a slender chalice.

The chalice was formed from a crack in the rocks.

-

A fragment of earth seen still through You,

or is it through me?

The dwarfed olive trees where You

could not find shelter then, nor–

And today, why do I come?

Don’t be surprised. Here for one thousand

nine hundred years each gaze passes

into that one gaze which never alters.

- Saint John Paul II

The Mission Of The Redeemer

As displayed in our exhibit, Saint John Paul II was always on mission throughout his pontificate. 

As we await the Lord’s second coming this Advent, many people throughout the world are still waiting to be introduced to Him. Saint John Paul II addressed this very issue in his encyclical Redemptoris Missio, which celebrated its 24^th anniversary this past weekend. To preach the Gospel is the vocation of every man, and through this letter, the late Holy Father guided the faithful on how to live like him, as a people on mission.

“No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples,” wrote John Paul II, for it is Christ who reveals God to us and reveals man to himself. The Church must always be on mission, because:

…true liberation consists in opening oneself to the love of Christ. In him, and only in him, are we set free from all alienation and doubt, from slavery to the power of sin and death. Christ is truly “our peace” (Eph 2:14); “the love of Christ impels us” (2 Cor 5:14), giving meaning and joy to our life.

…Newness of life in him is the "Good News" for men and women of every age: all are called to it and destined for it. Indeed, all people are searching for it, albeit at times in a confused way, and have a right to know the value of this gift and to approach it freely.

All people are made to be a part of the Kingdom of God, and as Christians we are called to respond to the missionary grace that the Father bestows upon each and every one of us. Relying upon the Holy Spirit, “the principal agent of mission,” we are each called to evangelize in our own unique ways, witnessing to the Gospel with our lives and preaching it to those who have never heard it and to those who need to hear it again.

Waiting And Patience

In his biography of Saint John Paul II, Witness to Hope, George Weigel describes how Cardinal Wojtyła kept in touch with old friends throughout his episcopate in Kraków, and how he continued to accompany them on their journeys of faith.

In his book, Weigel includes what Cardinal Wojtyła wrote in response to a letter from a friend and mother of two-year-old twins. He wrote:

I sense tiredness in your letter, which is easy to understand, knowing your character and your nervous system. On top of this, you always wanted to plan and do everything rationally. And here is the kingdom of irrationality, where normal activity and energy aren’t enough; you need to wait things out, some time to do nothing, and, simply, patience—especially since there are two. I realized that, on the one hand, there is always a price we pay for love. On the other, thanks to God, love is returned in that price. 

Just like this mother of twins, many of us like to “plan and do everything rationally.” Advent reminds us that God is not subject to our plans, but rather, He is the plan. St. John Paul II’s letter can remind us that we are called to be patient and wait for His coming, for the return of love.

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Letter from George Weigel’s Witness to Hope (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999; 215).

Trust In The Lord Forever

On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah:

“A strong city have we;

he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.

Open up the gates

to let in a nation that is just,

one that keeps faith.

A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;

in peace, for its trust in you.”

Trust in the LORD forever!

For the LORD is an eternal Rock.

He humbles those in high places,

and the lofty city he brings down;

He tumbles it to the ground,

levels it with the dust.

It is trampled underfoot by the needy,

by the footsteps of the poor.

-Isaiah 26:1-6