Advent at Work: A Time of Preparation
Advent marks the beginning of a new Church Liturgical Year, a time of spiritual refreshment, a time to start anew. It's also a time of preparation.
Thanksgiving saw many of us spend hours preparing for the arrival of our family and friends to share that special day. Just getting that turkey with all the trimmings on the table requires hours of effort - never mind any other goodies we bought or prepared for the guests. All that effort expended for our loved ones now needs to be concentrated on the one Loved One we all share.
Jesus Christ is coming and we need to be prepared. You and I, all of us.
Holy Mother Church tells us to prepare for both our observance of His coming at Christmas and for His Second coming. We know the date of the former: December 25th, Christmas Day. As for the latter, none of us know. So the need for preparation particularly applies to that day.
Those of us heading off for work today understand the need to be prepared for what we know is coming as well as what we might face today. There's a phrase that specifically captures this: "Expect the unexpected." We need to bring a spirit of vigilance to the job such that when the unexpected happens - and it always does at some point - we're not left flat-footed. (Of course, in the case of Our Lord's Second Coming, we can't say it's unexpected. The timing's the issue.)
Thinking of all the effort we put into preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration, and that vigilance we bring to our work each day should inspire us to double our efforts to prepare for the coming of the Lord during Advent. Unfortunately, it's easy to dismiss the urgency of the need to prepare. God never imposes Himself on us. And so too often we keep Him at bay. We go about our personal lives and our work lives as if He doesn't exist. Okay, so we go to Mass on Sunday. We might go to Confession from time to time. Maybe we even makes some time each day to pray. But do we "walk with" Our Lord each day? Is He our constant Companion? Do we tell Him we love Him, turn to Him for His counsel, thank Him for the blessings He showers upon us? Advent gives us the chance to consider all of this and do something about it.
When our children were younger, we used and Advent calendar to mark the days. Each day brought a special prayer, a palpable reminder that soon He would be with us in Bethlehem. It helped us to "feel" His Presence in a special way. Now that the children are grown, we don't use the Advent calendar. But we need nevertheless to take the time to make His Presence "real" especially during Advent. As we count each day to Christmas, it's important to experience some sense of urgency. Yes, He comes on December 25th! Yes, He will come at the end of the world!
As I head off to work today I know some of what the day will bring. But I also know that my typical day brings the unexpected. And I need to be physically and mentally prepared to handle whatever comes my way. I have my battery of skills and talents, honed carefully over the years to meet the challenges of my work day, combined with a willingness to face whatever comes with grace and courage.
So too during these days of Advent we all need to be - by the grace of God - spiritually prepared. Most especially should we be prepared for those inevitable disappointments sprinkled through the day, those times when our faults manifest themselves in thoughts, words, and actions throughout the day (some of which may be serious enough to constitute sin). We need to be prepared to turn to Our Lord at every turn and seek the strength and forgiveness only He can provide. We need to remember that, having done our best, the rest is in His Hands.
And so, as Advent begins, we begin our preparation. To help us in our efforts, we recall that in our recent posts on planning for the New Year, we spent some time with the Four Cardinal virtues:
Thanksgiving saw many of us spend hours preparing for the arrival of our family and friends to share that special day. Just getting that turkey with all the trimmings on the table requires hours of effort - never mind any other goodies we bought or prepared for the guests. All that effort expended for our loved ones now needs to be concentrated on the one Loved One we all share.
Jesus Christ is coming and we need to be prepared. You and I, all of us.
Holy Mother Church tells us to prepare for both our observance of His coming at Christmas and for His Second coming. We know the date of the former: December 25th, Christmas Day. As for the latter, none of us know. So the need for preparation particularly applies to that day.
Those of us heading off for work today understand the need to be prepared for what we know is coming as well as what we might face today. There's a phrase that specifically captures this: "Expect the unexpected." We need to bring a spirit of vigilance to the job such that when the unexpected happens - and it always does at some point - we're not left flat-footed. (Of course, in the case of Our Lord's Second Coming, we can't say it's unexpected. The timing's the issue.)
Thinking of all the effort we put into preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration, and that vigilance we bring to our work each day should inspire us to double our efforts to prepare for the coming of the Lord during Advent. Unfortunately, it's easy to dismiss the urgency of the need to prepare. God never imposes Himself on us. And so too often we keep Him at bay. We go about our personal lives and our work lives as if He doesn't exist. Okay, so we go to Mass on Sunday. We might go to Confession from time to time. Maybe we even makes some time each day to pray. But do we "walk with" Our Lord each day? Is He our constant Companion? Do we tell Him we love Him, turn to Him for His counsel, thank Him for the blessings He showers upon us? Advent gives us the chance to consider all of this and do something about it.
When our children were younger, we used and Advent calendar to mark the days. Each day brought a special prayer, a palpable reminder that soon He would be with us in Bethlehem. It helped us to "feel" His Presence in a special way. Now that the children are grown, we don't use the Advent calendar. But we need nevertheless to take the time to make His Presence "real" especially during Advent. As we count each day to Christmas, it's important to experience some sense of urgency. Yes, He comes on December 25th! Yes, He will come at the end of the world!
As I head off to work today I know some of what the day will bring. But I also know that my typical day brings the unexpected. And I need to be physically and mentally prepared to handle whatever comes my way. I have my battery of skills and talents, honed carefully over the years to meet the challenges of my work day, combined with a willingness to face whatever comes with grace and courage.
So too during these days of Advent we all need to be - by the grace of God - spiritually prepared. Most especially should we be prepared for those inevitable disappointments sprinkled through the day, those times when our faults manifest themselves in thoughts, words, and actions throughout the day (some of which may be serious enough to constitute sin). We need to be prepared to turn to Our Lord at every turn and seek the strength and forgiveness only He can provide. We need to remember that, having done our best, the rest is in His Hands.
And so, as Advent begins, we begin our preparation. To help us in our efforts, we recall that in our recent posts on planning for the New Year, we spent some time with the Four Cardinal virtues:
- Prudence
- Temperance
- Fortitude
- Justice
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