'...the Lord is nigh; nigh to His Church, and nigh to each of our souls. Who can be near so burning a fire, and yet be so cold? Do we not feel that He is coming to us, in spite of all obstacles? He will let nothing be a barrier between Himself and us, neither His own infinite high majesty, not our exceeding lowliness, nor our many sins. Yet a little while, and He will be with us. Let us go out to meet Him by these prayers and supplications, and thanksgiving which the apostle (St. Paul), recommends to us. Let our zeal to unite ourselves with our holy mother the Church become more than ever fervent: now every day her prayers will increase in intense earnestness, and her longings after Him, who is her light and her love, will grow more ardent...'
St. John the Baptist has told those of that time: the Messiah was in their midst. Of course, they knew Him not! Our beloved Abbot continues: 'In this, St. John is the type of the Church, and of all such as seek Jesus. St. John is full of joy because the Saviour has come: but the men around him are as indifferent as though they neither expected nor wanted a Saviour. This is the third week of Advent; and are all hearts excited by the great tidings told them by the Church, that the Messias is near at hand? they that love Him not as their Saviour, do they fear Him as their Judge? Are the crooked ways being made straight, and the hills being brought low? Are Christians seriously engaged in removing from their hearts the love of riches and the love of sensual pleasures? there is NO time to lose: the Lord is nigh! If these lines should come under the eye of any of those Christians who are in this state of sinful indifference, we would conjure them to shake off their lethargy, and render themselves worthy of the visit of the Divine Infant: such a visit will bring them the greatest consolation here, and give them confidence hereafter, when our Lord will come to judge all mankind.'
EPISTLE Phil 4. 4-7 “The Lord is nigh,” says St. Paul, “rejoice in the Lord.” May our faith and hope in Jesus Christ our Lord, always increase!
Brethren, Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous: but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
On this day the Church urges us to gladness in the middle of this time of expectation and penitence: the coming of Jesus approaches more and more. St. John, the holy precursor, announces to the Jews the coming of the Savior. “The Savior,” he says to them, “lives already among us, though unknown. He will soon appear openly.” Now is the time for fervent prayers and for imploring Jesus to remain with us by His mercy. Let us prepare the way for Him by repentance and by a worthy reception of the Sacraments. All the prayers of this Mass are filled with that which the Church wishes our souls to be possessed at the approach of the Savior.
Think of all those souls who are indifferent these days, and will be lost to the evil one at their judgment if they do not repent, and come back to the eternal Truth, which is JESUS CHRIST!
*(There are some who do NOT use the Advent wreath in their services. They say it's because they couldn't find any Catholic origin for it. I know it started in the early 1800's in Germany, so it's probably of Lutheran origin. I personally don't have a problem with it, since it reminds us of the nearness of Christ's appearance into the world. If anyone out there knows of any other explanation for its origin, leave a comment.)
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