Ad Jesum per Mariam

Preparing for Jesus’ Arrival: Reflecting on the Advent Season

Preparing for Jesus’ Arrival: Reflecting on the Advent Season We extend our heartfelt wishes . . . . . . for a blessed and joyful new liturgical year to everyone. This new beginning calls us to renew ourselves in how we live and grow closer to God. As we step into this liturgical year, we begin with the season of Advent—a time rich with meaning. Advent’s Meaning The word Advent originates from the Latin term Adventus, meaning “arrival” or “coming.” This season reflects three profound aspects of Christ’s arrival. The First Coming: Advent reminds us of the historical reality of our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming to earth. He became man, walked among us, and fulfilled the promise of God. The prophet Jeremiah foretold this in the first reading: God would raise a just shoot from David, fulfilling His covenant with Israel. Jesus’ coming is not a myth or a legend; it is a historical truth. He was born as a child, grew among us, and brought salvation to humanity. The Second Coming: Christ also comes to us daily. Advent is a season to recognize His constant presence in our lives. Jesus knocks on the door of our hearts, seeking to be welcomed. He comes to us through His Word, through prayer, and most intimately in the Eucharist. Every day, we are called to open our hearts to Him and embrace His presence. The Final Coming: Lastly, Advent calls us to prepare for Christ’s ultimate return in glory. Just as He came in history and as He continues to come to us daily, He will come again to fulfill God’s divine plan. This final coming reminds us to live with vigilance and hope, ready to welcome Him when He returns. In the Homily, we hear a story about one family’s preparation for Our Lord’s Final Coming and its implications for all of us. As we journey through Advent, let us reflect on our readiness for Christ’s presence in all its forms. Let us prepare our hearts, welcome Him daily, and live with joyful anticipation of His final coming. Hear more within this Meditation Media. Listen to: Preparing for Jesus’ Arrival: Reflecting on the Advent Season -------------------------- Image: Christ: The Last Judgement: Italian Artist and Painter: Michelangelo: 1536-1541 This is a very small portion of a much larger Sistine fresco painted by Michelangelo twenty-five years after painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Duration:: 16m
Broadcast on:: 03 Dec 2024
Audio Format:: other

They'll not be with you, and with your spirit, A reading from the Holocaust for according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. (Silence) Jesus said to his disciples, There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, be perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the son of man, coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carusing and drunkenness, and the anxieties of daily life. And that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day who assault everyone, who lives on the face of the earth, be vigilant at all times, and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the son of man. The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. How I wish that today's Mass would be outside. (Laughter) I don't know how many of us would later withstand the weather. I woke up this morning, came out of the house. I said, "Wow, this is now serious. It's getting serious." Today, as for the USA at the beginning of Mass, we are beginning a new liturgical year, ESC. And we begin this year with the season of Advent. And I would want to wish each and everyone of us a happy new liturgical year. And this also entails a call for us to be new in what we do, to grow more closer to God in our lives. And we begin this new liturgical year, as I've said, with the season of Advent. And Advent, briefly, is understood as the coming or the arrival from a Latin way Adventus. And this arrival is in three ways. Three ways. The first way, it is an affirmation that our Lord Jesus Christ came here on Earth. He became man like us. And Advent tells us that the Jesus we talk about is not just a myth. No. God came to us. He stepped His feet here on Earth. He truly came to us. And this is understood as the historical coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we hear in the first reading from the prophet, Jeremiah, who says that God is going to raise a shoot from David. And this shoot would be just. So the coming in of our Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this promise that God made to His people Israel. And in Advent, we remember the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, it's not just a legend. It's not just a myth. But it is a historical fact that Jesus, God Himself, God the Son became man. He came to us. He was like a baby. He grew up. And He came to us for our salvation. We also celebrate the second coming, which is that Jesus Christ continuously comes to us on a daily basis. Every day Jesus knocks on our doors. This is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He knocks on our doors. He knocks on our hearts for us to welcome Him. He comes to us every day when we hear His words. When we receive Him in the sacrament of the Eucharist, He comes to us. And this is Advent. I would like to welcome Him. And then they said, coming is that our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to us, His story got proven. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who continues coming to us, He is going to come again. And we must prepare for this coming. As we affirm that He came to us, as we receive Him on databases, we also must prepare for His second coming. Last year, a day like this one, the first day of Advent, I visited a family after Mass. So when I was there, the father of the family, they were there with his wife and children. He said, "Wow, Father, how do we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in a proper way?" Then I said, "But you have changed this morning and you heard about it." He said, "Yeah." Then I said, "Okay, fine, I have a simple question to you, which I would like to ask you." Then I said, "Tell me, what would you do if an angel appears to you and tells you that you only have one hour to live? He on earth, and then you die." Then I was a little boy. Then I said, "Ah, Father, for me I would ask my mom to prepare the best dish. And then after preparing it, I eat it slowly and enjoy every bite. We all laughed. We knew such as a kid. And then another boy said, "If I'm given an hour, I would call my parents and tell them, I'm sorry for all the times that I've disappointed them. And I would also tell them how much I love them. That they should feel it, that I love them despite all the disappointments. And the parents were there smiling. They said, "Wow, so you know that you travel us, but you do it directly." And then the wife said, "Father, I would call my husband and tell him how much I cherish his love." And then I would look for a priest in order to receive the sacrament of confession. He said, "Okay." And then the father said, "Father, I'm given one hour. What I would do, I would call my wife and tell her how much I love her. Tell her how beautiful she is. And then I would also share what I have with the poor. And I would look for a priest in order to receive the sacrament of confession. And then from that place where I'll meet the priest, I'll go straight to the church and kneel down before the blessed sacrament so that I should die before the blessed sacrament." Then I said, "My friends have a body news to you." I said, "Wow." I told them, "I'm sorry, we may not have that one hour, in which we have to prepare. We may not have that one hour. That one hour is now." So all the good things that you have mentioned, which you would do when you are given that one hour, start doing them now. Start preparing for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ now. When that time comes, it will be very easy. How I wish all of us would have that mentality, that we live every day as if it is the last day for us here on earth. How I wish that would do that, and love would overflow. Forgiveness would be everywhere. This season of Advent causes to prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who came, who continues coming to us, and who is going to come, the second coming. In the gospel, we hear our Lord Jesus Christ, who is telling us that there will be signs, the sun and the moon. And people will be afraid. People who go in dismay, confusion. But Jesus tells us, when we see all these, we should stand erect. We should raise our heads. And what does this mean? To stand erect, raise our heads. It tells us to have hope in Him. All the descriptions, the signs that Jesus have mentioned, we may equal them to our current situations. Recently, we heard of the hurricane that took place. And then we hear how people talk about it when all these things are happening. The fear that grips us. Last time, back home, we had the cyclone, and then we would also listen to people. Maybe this is the end of the earth. Maybe I'm going to die. And normally, when all these things are happening, fear grips us. We are afraid. But Jesus tells us, this is the time for us to stand erect, to raise our heads, to have hope. Because our salvation is near at hand. The God we believe in is going to save us. And how do we stand erect? How do we raise our heads? Jesus Christ continues by telling us that we should pray always. We should pray always. We should be vigilant in prayer. And then the second reading continues by telling us that we should abound in love. We should love one another. We should love one another. And Saint Paul as well continues that what you received from us, you should also continue it. By being open to God, at the same time, the continuation of what we received is the dedication and the commitment to reading the Scriptures. My job rather than sisters, as we prepare for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in this Advent, at the same time, as we cherish that our Lord Jesus Christ came to us for our redemption and the culmination of it will come at Christmas. And as we celebrate His continued coming to us, we are called to be vigilant in prayer. We are called to love one another. And we are called to love reading the Scriptures. And in this way, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes, He is going to find us ready. And when we do this, we are going to utilize the one hour. We may not need one hour for us to prepare, because our lives is already a preparation for His second coming. May Almighty God help us so that this Advent season may bring us closer to God. And Jesus may reign in us. Amen.