Today our Catholic Church begins its annual season of Advent which invites us to prayerfully wait in hope for the birth of our Lord Jesus on Christmas Day. It is a time to reflect on the many stories surrounding God entering our world two thousand and twenty years ago in a makeshift crib in Bethlehem. It is time for us to join with Mary and “ponder many things in our hearts.”
Most years, it can be challenging to embrace this period of quietly waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ as the demands on our lives and schedule of events normally seem busiest during these often-hectic weeks in the calendar year. Annual Christmas parties, writing cards, decorating homes, the never-ending need to go shopping for special gifts, baking cookies, fighting threw large crowds to go see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center or the Rockettes at Radio City are but only a few annual rituals that have become part of our normal build up to Christmas routines. Because of the pandemic, many of these activities will look quite different or will simply not happen this year.
In the midst of these dark and scary times that we live, could there be an unseen gift? Might we be invited to utilize a little bit of our newfound time? Rather than spending time in the usual hustle and frantic buildup to Christmas Day, might we go a little deeper this year? Instead of waiting on long lines in crowded malls to purchase the perfect gift, could we instead wait in a peaceful quiet place for the coming of the most perfect gift of all, which God gives each Christmas in the birth of Jesus.
Hopefully, our world will never again witness the harsh realities, lockdowns and plague like deaths that we have endured in 2020. As we wait for vaccines and a return to normality, what type of “new normal” do we want to embrace with our lives? Are there demands and stresses in our life that we may choose not to again allow to become our lived reality? Might we instead, opt for more quality time to spend with those we love and cherish?
The great spiritual writer, Meister Eckhart reminded us, six hundred years ago, what this season of advent can be, when he wrote:
“What good is it to me that Mary gave birth to the son of God fourteen hundred years ago, and I do not also give birth to the Son of God in my time and in my culture? We are all meant to be mothers of God. God is always needing to be born.”
How will I allow Christ to be born again this year through me? As Marists of Champagnat, we are each called to be like Mary and bring God into our world in our own time and way. As 2020 ends, let us each find real ways to allow the Light of our world to be reborn in and through us. May your advent journey be filled with wonder, peace, loved ones and allow you to wake up on Christmas morning with new hope that Emmanuel has again been born. Have a blessed Advent season!