9781644135945

The Christmas Cycle
Holy Eucharist during Mass we, too, experience the effects of grace upon our souls. Our universe,
that is, our soul, is enriched by Christ, by His grace and His redemption. The things promised
us in the Gospel of the Mass are fulfilled in the Communion. “The kingdom of God is at hand.”
We have put away for the rest of the week the works of darkness, and have put on Christ. We
have put on the armor of light and, like Mary, we have become sanctuaries of the Most High.
Meditation
“Lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand” (Gospel). The coming of Christ, which
is spoken of in the Gospel, will also mean our redemption. Oppressed by evil on all sides and
burdened with the sins of her children, the Church looks forward to the day of salvation with
great longing. This day had its beginning the moment Christ was conceived by the Blessed
Mother. It will endure till the end of time, even till the coming of Christ for the Last Judgment.
“Lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.” Our life is a continual Advent during
which we are always on the road to salvation.
“I have lifted up my soul” (Introit). Advent implies a turning toward God with fervent longing.
“Stir up Thy might, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and come, that from the threatening dangers of
our sins we may be rescued by Thy protection” (Collect). In many ways we are still in need of
redemption. We are still in danger of committing sin; we often misuse the grace of God; we may
yet become victims of our own unruly passions. We are repeatedly beset by the temptation to
reason and act in a purely natural way, to ignore the supernatural, to go astray, and thus to lose
God. The Apostle’s earnest warning applies to all of us as long as we live: “Wherefore he that
thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12).
In the face of this terrible possibility and against the allurements of the flesh, who can give
us assurance that we shall not fail? When we consider the strength of our self-love and self-will,
how can we be sure that we shall not fall into sin? Our human foresight, our scant prudence, and
our faltering resolutions are not a sufficient guarantee; only the grace of God can give us this
assurance. Only “with the Lord there is . . . plentiful redemption” (Ps 129:7). Feeling the need of
this assurance we turn to the coming Redeemer. “To Thee I have lifted up my soul; in Thee, O
my God, I place my trust. . . . Show, O Lord, Thy ways to me, and teach me Thy paths” (Introit).
“It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep” (Epistle). During the season of Advent we
should put away all sin. “The night is passed, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off
the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day; not in
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy, but
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Epistle).
Hitherto we have been asleep in sin. “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep,” time to
put away all that is earthly, all that will displease the Lord when He comes. It is now the hour
for us to arise by penance and self-denial from our former sins and infidelities. We must arise
to a tireless struggle against all that is unclean, depraved, superficial, and worldly. Advent is the
time for us to purge our souls from the spirit of the world, from the spirit of impurity, from all
that does not lead to God and promote His interests.
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths. Every valley shall be filled and
every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight and the
rough ways plain. And all flesh shall see the salvation of the Lord” (Lk 3:4–6).
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