Catholic Corner
December 6, 2020
Last Sunday marked the beginning of the Advent season and hence the beginning of the Church’s liturgical year. Advent is understood as a time of preparation. During the first three weeks of Advent the emphasis is on preparing our hearts and minds for the second coming of Christ, the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God (the Eschaton), which will bring all things to their completion. This sense of looking forward is captured in the readings and prayers. As baptized Christians who work for the coming of the Kingdom, Advent allows us a specific season to focus on the hope and anticipation that mark this time of year.
This tension between the “now” and the “yet to come,” is expressed in our Church building through the repeating almond or mandorla pattern that is seen in the baptismal font, the pattern on the floor, the shape of the building itself. The mandorla is the shape that is formed when two circles intersect. It represents the meeting point between the now and the Kingdom of God. When we worship we stand between two worlds, Advent allows us a time to focus on the Kingdom to come, the world we are called to build.
These first three weeks of Advent are “Eschatological”, they look to the coming of the Kingdom. This is reflected in the readings for this Sunday. Isaiah told his people that they were to prepare the way for the Messiah. They were to call out with courage and faith for the one that was long awaited would arrive with compassion and care. We too are called to cry out with courage and faith. From our dying and rising in baptism, to our gathering around the Table of the Lord, we step forward into the world as living meeting points between the “now” and the Kingdom of God. Our task is to help Advent this new eschatological reality through Christ.
The Season of Advent invites us to pause and mark the many ways that God is with us (Emmanuel) in our lives, that we may give thanks for the light in the dark and devote ourselves to preparing the Kingdom. Consider taking time for quiet prayer and contemplation, take advantage of the various prayer opportunities such as the video Sunday Evening Prayer, the Communal Reconciliation Service, etc., s part of your own preparation and recognition of God’s presence among us.
