For two years now, as a seminarian, I\u2019ve been praying with the Church more regularly during Advent. By this, I mean praying the Liturgy of the Hours and going to Mass. Being immersed more in the liturgy, I get a better idea of what Advent is all about. The question of Advent comes down to this: what are we waiting for? We wait for the celebration of Jesus\u2019 birth, yes, but that\u2019s only half the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During Advent, we wait first to celebrate the birth of Jesus, joining with centuries of Jewish people waiting for the coming of the Christ. We see this in the first reading, when the Prophet Isaiah writes: \u201cThey name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.\u201d Who is this man they wait for? Who is this kingly figure, being described as a Saviour? In Isaiah\u2019s context, perhaps King Hezekiah, the next king of Judah. But in a broader context, no man could perfectly fulfill this longing for a Saviour: no man except the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Every promise made in the Old Testament, every hope of salvation, every yearning of every heart finds its fulfillment in Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So why do we<\/em> wait for Jesus? Didn\u2019t He already come? Yes, but He\u2019s coming back! We recall the former longing for the Christ, because we long for Him now. This is the second way we wait in Advent: we long for Jesus to come back. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that we are to \u201clive temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.\u201d Do I await the coming of Jesus, preparing to welcome Him? When Jesus came the first time, as the Gospel tells us, \u201cthere was no room for them in the inn.\u201d When Jesus comes again, will there be room for Him in the inn of my heart? It is so easy to fill our hearts with every kind of distraction. But maybe, just maybe, we can set aside room for Him. He isn\u2019t afraid of a humble dwelling-place: if He was willing to be born in a cave, He\u2019s more than willing to dwell in our hearts, as messy and cluttered as they can sometimes be! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, on Christmas Day, we commemorate the first coming of Jesus Christ, and we look forward to His coming again in glory. Throughout this Christmas season, let\u2019s rejoice and celebrate, looking forward to the day when we can welcome Him in fullness! Then, humble shepherds and magnificent angels will once again cry out: \u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Merry Christmas!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sean Ulrich<\/strong> \u2013 St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christmas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[95,257],"class_list":["post-2809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider","tag-christmas","tag-sean-ulrich"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n