The weeks before Christmas, called Advent, focus on the comings of Christ. At Advent’s conclusion, Christmas, the focus is on His coming at His birth in Bethlehem, Christ born in the flesh to be our Savior.
For the beginning of the Advent season the focus is on His final coming in glory at the end of time when the Lord will come to judge the living and the dead. Then there are His daily comings in which He continually shows Himself to us, particularly those privileged showings of the Lord, the seven Sacraments in which He is truly present and in which He acts.
Finally, there are those other comings of the Lord through a variety of persons whose words and deeds bring Him into our lives and through certain experiences and occasions which make us aware of His presence. Advent reminds us that in order to greet Him when He comes, in order to recognize Him when He is shown, and, in order to let Him into our lives when He appears, we need to be prepared. We need to make ourselves ready for Him.
A way to do this is to consider the example of His perfect disciple, His Mother Mary, who is also our Mother. She models for us readiness for Christ. She can assist us to truly let Christ into our lives. This week on Dec. 8 the church honored Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of the United States and of our diocese. Immaculate Mary, sinless from her conception in her mother’s womb, to make her a worthy vessel to bear in herself the Christ. May we follow her example and strive to be free of sin so that we may let Him in to our lives.
Sin crowds Him out and prevents Him from coming to us. In each parish of the diocese the Sacrament of Penance is available. Check the parish schedule for the hours of the Sacrament in order to prepare to experience freedom from sin through Confession.
On Dec. 12 Mary is honored under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas who showed herself to Saint Juan Diego, one of the native peoples. Speaking his language, looking like his people, Guadalupe sent Him to the Church with the Gospel. May Mary’s example encourage us to bring Christ to others. May we be evangelizers in the tradition of St. Juan Diego by the witness of our lives and bring His Gospel to others. This is what Guadalupe teaches us.
May this Advent time increase our understanding and appreciation of the role of the Mother of God in the story of our salvation. Above all, may we look to Mary to help us to prepare for Christ’s coming at the end of time, in the Sacraments, in the everyday and during this Christmas time.
Written by Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan
Published in the Dec. 12, 2014 Catholic Star Herald