Advent: Christian Hope & Joy
Graz City Parish, Austria - Advent lights
Spiritual Reflections on the Season of Advent By Rev. Msgr. A. Robert Nusca, President
Advent Season: A Time For Hope
We live in what is, in many ways, an age of fear, an age of uncertainty. Despite the technological advances of our time, so many signs speak to us of a profound emptiness at the heart of our postmodern culture.
Amid the many challenges that we face, one of the dangers is that people give in to a spirit of hopelessness.
But during this season of Advent, our faith gives us a great reason to renew our hope and trust in God. Certainly, the Saints are living examples to us of how to hope with great confidence in the renewing power of the Holy Spirit amid life’s most challenging circumstances. As the prophet Isaiah writes,
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar upon eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint. (Isa. 40:31)
Hope is one of the three theological virtues (along with Faith and Charity). The primary object of our Hope is God, the Kingdom of Heaven, and everlasting life with the Angels and Saints. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Art. 1817:
Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.
And so, let us place our hope and trust in God, who promises to “make all things new” (Rev 21:5). For “our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8). Placing our hope in God, rather than in our own abilities, hope leads us to raise our sights upward, toward heaven.
For as our faith teaches us, hope is both “the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” and is also a “weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation…affording us joy even under trial.” Ultimately, “hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the “Our Father” the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire” (CCC, Art. 1820).
During this season of Advent, then, let us strive to live our faith authentically, deeply, in all of its dimensions, and to draw ever closer to the God of love, mercy, and peace revealed by Jesus Christ as we journey through this passing world.
Knowing that the victory is Christ’s, and relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit and not our own efforts – however strong and sustained our efforts may be – let us inspire others to “hope against hope” (Rom. 4:18), in these difficult times.
And let us always hope and trust in the amazing power of prayer.
“Pray At All Times”
St. Paul exhorts the faithful to “pray always” (1 Thess. 5:16-18; Eph. 6:18). So too, in the Parables of “the friend at night” (or “importunate neighbor,” in Luke 11:5-8), and the Parable of “the persistent widow” (Luke 18:1-8), Our Lord Himself underscores the great importance of persistence in prayer.
For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened (Luke 11:10).
Indeed, Prayer before, prayer during, prayer after all of our activities, says St. Maximilian Kolbe. Or in the consoling words of St. Pio of Pietrelcina,
Pray, hope, and don’t worry.
Advent Season: “Good News of Great Joy”
In addition to hope, a spirit of joy marks the season of Advent. Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it is not the result of our own doing, but is one of the
…perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory (CCC, #1832).
When we meditate upon Sacred Scripture, we see that even in the midst of life’s most difficult circumstances, great joy is expressed by the prophets around God's promise to renew all of creation.
Joy emerges as an important theme in St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. More than an emotion, joy is a state of spiritual equilibrium in the midst of life’s shifting fortunes.
Joy permits us to look beyond the sorrows and disorders of this passing world and - as with hope - prompts us to raise our sights upward toward God, toward Christ’s victory over the forces of sin, suffering and death, and ultimately, to “rejoice in the Lord” and to do so “always” (Phil. 3:1; 4:4).
Like the Magi, who followed the star that led them to Bethlehem, let us focus our sights upon Jesus Christ, the Morning Star (Rev. 22:16). Let us prepare joyfully for His arrival at Christmas, as we strive to do our own part to bring the light, love and mercy of God to all those around us who are most in need.
And may the light of Christ that dawns upon a darkened world illuminate our minds,
like a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19).
During this season of Advent, let us pray for the grace to experience a genuine spiritual renewal as we prepare joyfully to welcome the Christ Child this Christmas.
And let us pray that God may strengthen our hope in His own power to renew all things in Christ.
Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).