On the First Sunday of Advent

ON THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

 

Today, our Holy Mother Church begins afresh in her ecclesiastical year. Thus, today is not just the beginning of Advent but also the commencement of a "new" ecclesiastical year.

Collect

Stir up Thy power, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and come: that from the threatening dangers of our sins we may deserve to be rescued by Thy protection, and to be saved by Thy deliverance: Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost God, world without end. Amen.

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke (xxi, 25-33)

At that time Jesus said to His disciples: There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves: men withering away for fear and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved. And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift your heads, because your redemption is at hand. And He spoke to them a similitude: See the fig tree and all the trees: when they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away.

Excerpts from Goffine's Ecclesiastical Year (my comments in brackets)

What is the meaning of Advent, and what do we understand by the term? The word Advent signifies coming, and by it is understood the visible coming of the Son of God into this world, at two different times.

[Here Goffine refers to the first coming of Christ in Bethlehem and the second coming of Christ at the Last Judgement, nowadays Advent is also a time for preparing for the coming of Christ in our hearts, thus Advent is a preparation for the triple coming of Christ, yesterday, today and tomorrow].

Why does the Church cause the gospel of the Last Judgment to be read on this day? To move us to penance, and to induce us to prepare our souls for the coming of Christ, by placing the Last Judgment before our minds. Should not the thought of this terrible judgment, when all good and all evil will be revealed, and accordingly be rewarded or punished in the presence of the whole world-should not this thought strengthen us in virtue!

[I still hear people being terrified of the coming 21st of December 2012 believed to the end of days according to the Mayan calendar. Mayans were pagans why should we Christians believe in them? Also, why are we so concerned in predicting the time of the end of the world? As the Scripture puts it, only God knows the time of the Second Coming. Our Lord wants us to prepare for His coming not to be awe-stricken by the events of the Last Judgement.]

Source:

• The Roman Missal (1962) published by the Baronius Press (2004)
• The Ecclesiastical Year (51st ed) by Rev. Leonard Goffine (1880)