Editorial

Advent is a time of ardent desire, of longing for Christ

“When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #524).

Advent is the time of year when we give voice to the ardent desire for Christ’s coming again. Advent is a time of longing for God’s love, which was made manifest in the holy child of Bethlehem. Love was born that first Christmas day, and God’s love was fully revealed in the man who was destined to suffer and die for us.

We renew our longing for God’s love each year as we anticipate Christ’s coming again. We remind ourselves that God the Father so loved the world that he sent his only Son to “pitch his tent among us” and take away the sins of the world. We cry out in prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus!” because we know that he alone can save us from our sins.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone” (Is 9:1). The prophet Isaiah announces the great rejoicing that takes place when the light of Christ is allowed to shine in our weary world. He invites us to celebrate the great victory that is achieved when love conquers death, and when peace is permanently established in our hearts, homes and communities.

It’s sad but true. We are living in a time of darkness and gloom. Our politics are poisonous. Our leaders are divided and directionless. And we have forgotten how to disagree with one another without bitterness and hateful name-calling. No wonder we long for the Lord’s coming again.

Our faith tells us that our warfare is ended and peace reigns, but it often doesn’t feel that way. There is real suffering, loneliness and fear in this world’s darkness. That’s why we need this holy season of light and hope—to give voice to our very real feelings of frustration and discouragement at the same time that we wait in joyful hope for the one who has already saved us from the power of death, but who is coming again in glory.

Jesus Christ lived among us as a man 2,000 years ago. After his passion, death and resurrection, he ascended to his Father. But we Christians believe that he will come again on the last day. We also believe that he is with us here and now—in the holy Eucharist and all the sacraments, in our prayer, in the good works we perform, and wherever two or more are gathered in his name.

Jesus Christ is the Lord of history. That means that, while he is the goal or end of human history, he is not bound by the limits of time or space as we are. As a result, he can be present with us now and, at the same time, be coming again in the future.

Although we know that Christ is with us always, we still wait in joyful hope for his coming again in glory. While we believe in his Real Presence in the Eucharist, we long for the more perfect communion that we will enjoy when we are with him in our heavenly home.

God is with us—really and truly—in the Eucharist and in the infant lying in a manger. The Almighty God has emptied himself, as St. Paul says, and taken the form of the most vulnerable and dependent human being, a little child. And he has given himself to us in the most intimate way imaginable through his body and blood, which we consume during holy Communion.

So, we rejoice. We are filled with joy because the long-awaited Savior has come. We rejoice because we are not alone in a vast, uncaring universe. God is with us. He knows us—each one by name—and he loves us as his sisters and brothers in the one family of God.

But even as we rejoice at the mystery of God’s presence here and now, we also celebrate the profound hope that he will come again. We believe that the suffering and evil that we experience in this world will pass away one day. God’s kingdom will come—on Earth as it is heaven—and on that day every tear will be wiped away, and we will see God face to face.

Now, with the whole Church, we proclaim: Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! And in the weeks ahead, we will sing with joyful hearts: Adeste fidelis! Come, let us adore him!

—Daniel Conway