God has given us the priceless gift of Himself

By the time you receive our December issue of the Dakota Catholic Action, the great and holy season of Advent will have begun which means that a new year of grace and favor from the Lord will have begun for all of us as well.

As we all should know, Advent is one of the two penitential seasons in our Church year, the other being Lent. However, the tone of Advent and thus, the tenor of our penance is the same as it was when St. John the Baptist came out of the desert crying out for the need to repent and prepare to see and believe and then follow the long-awaited Messiah. It’s the fulfillment of the ancient promise of redemption and salvation for the faithful remnant of God’s people. This time is a penance of joyful and humble preparation, an alert waiting on the Lord.

Allow me to explain this a bit further. A very long time ago, when I was a new high school seminarian, we had a day of recollection right before the first Sunday of Advent in 1963. The priest who preached this day of recollection made a remark that I have never forgotten, and I always try to observe Advent in such a way that I follow his advice. He said that Advent gives us a chance to “wait on the Lord” and not just “wait for the Lord.”

The example he gave then still holds true. When we wait on the coming of someone, we are busy with everything we need to do to be ready when the person arrives. In other words, it is an active time for us to put everything in order so that when the person arrives, we are ready and not caught off guard. The priest said that when we wait for someone to come, we are much more passive; it’s like waiting in an airport or a train station for someone. There isn’t anything to do except just sit and wait.

Given the days in which we are now living and celebrating Advent and Christmas, I think the Lord has blessed us in just this way that we can “wait on His coming” by preparing ourselves spiritually and temporally without all the distractions that come with this time of year. Perhaps this Advent can be for us what it was for the people of John the Baptist’s day when they actively repented of their sins so as not to be taken by surprise or worse, miss the promised Messiah because they were preoccupied with all sorts of things.

Let us enter into Advent determined to joyfully, humbly and actively prepare ourselves and our families for Jesus. Advent and Christmas are not a matter of “things,” as nice as they are. Advent and Christmas are a matter of hearts ready and willing for Jesus to embrace, heal, uplift and strengthen for the honor and glory of God and for our salvation.

Know of my prayers that your Advent will be a holy time and your Christmas will give you that joy and peace only our good God can give. When all is said and done, it is God Himself Who must be the center of our lives because He has given us the priceless gift of Himself. There is no better Christmas than that!