An Advent Reflection 12/16/19:

Recently, I have been asking people what the season of Advent means to them.  This question has been met with many different answers and some extremely interesting insight as to how individuals view Advent in their lives.  This brought me to compare the different responses with my own feelings of Advent leading to some pretty intense reflection over the course of this weekend.  As the boys were sleeping Saturday night after a long day, I sat down and begin to write out the different Advent answers/questions that were on my mind.  Pulling all this together has been the most difficult part however, if you’ll bear with me, I would like to give it a try. 

Advent, as we know, means “coming” or “arrival”.  Of course in our faith, this is in reference to the coming of the Jesus Christ, or the birth of Jesus celebrated in Christmas and our preparation for this most holy event.  This concept made me wonder, as Christians, do we spend more time in actual preparation, or panic, for the upcoming birth of Christ in Christmas.  Christmas is almost here and with that means deadlines.  There are presents to buy, houses to clean, meals to plan, food to shop for, travel to plan, and the eternal question of “do I have everything ready” to answer.  The previous statement seems to sum up the events during Advent for the overwhelming majority of people I spoke with.  Panic.  It seems ironic that many of us don’t ask this same “do I have everything ready” question regarding our spiritual lives during the season of Advent…I mean, isn’t that what the season is for?  Now, granted, I have felt the same way as others throughout this time of year thinking of what it is that I will need to do next.  So, perhaps we should try this, compare during Advent our relationship with Christ and our personal, spiritual preparation for the birth of Jesus with our ability to complete tasks timely in order to entertain others on Christmas. 

This Preparation vs. Panic concept also brought me to another questions; how does this happen?  I mean, we know what the seasons of Advent and Christmas are about, the importance to our spiritual lives both seasons are and yet, many of us as Christians continuously fall into the “rat-race” of Christmas time the same as so many others do.  Perhaps the answer to this is in a statement someone made about being busy.  “If the enemy cannot get you to sin, he will attempt to make you busy resulting in closing off your ability to grow closer to God.”  Let’s think about this statement this person made.  Advent and Christmas are two of the very most important seasons of our Catholic Christian lives and yet, if we are so busy being wrapped up in all the hustle and bustle of the “season” how can even the most devout Catholics grow their spiritual lives.  What can we do to slow ourselves down and keep the Enemy from distracting us from our relationship with Christ?  I guess each of us must answer that question ourselves.  One thing is for certain, just as the shopping/commercial Christmas season will be over before we know, so too will the cleansing/calming/reflecting/preparation season of Advent. 

It is time we put the unnecessary aside to make room for the necessary in our lives.  Don’t let the season that is set aside for the very purpose of drawing you closer to your Savior, be realized in a heap of torn wrapping paper and dirty dishes following the chaos and noise in an empty room.  Instead, use the remaining days individually to take time, slow down, and prepare for Christ to fill you with peace.

Jason C. Swann/OLMC