The liturgical year, in union with creation, often shows us what we need most throughout the year. We begin Advent and the new liturgical year in late fall. It is a time when those of us in the northern hemisphere experience stillness, quiet, and a sense of waiting in creation.
The trees are bare and have shed their autumnal splendor. They now stand dormant, waiting for spring. The flowers are no longer blooming. The bird song is is much softer and only heard on occasion. Many animals have gone into hibernation for a “long winter’s nap.” The earth has entered into a period of waiting and expectancy. Even the long darkness of night that grows until the Winter Solstice points to a waiting upon the dawn.
During Advent, the Church is inviting us into a period of stillness, quiet, and peace as we wait on the comings of Christ both in the Parousia and as the Messiah at Christmas. Even though we are a redeemed people, we still wait upon the Lord and His triumphant return at the end of time, which could happen at any hour. Paragraph 678 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that His Second Coming is viewed as “imminent.”
We are to prepare for His coming through leading holy lives and growing in love and communion with the Most Holy Trinity and one another. All of us are also preparing to celebrate the great feast of Christmas when the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, took on human flesh and dwelt among us, but there are also other ways we are waiting on the Lord right now.
Read the rest over at Catholic Exchange.
Swimming the Depths 