The week after Thanksgiving has arrived and with it we desire to prepare ourselves for the arrival of Christmas. In order to prepare ourselves we have a lot of decorating to do, lots of shopping, a plethora of Knights of Columbus Christmas cards to fill out, and maybe even some planning of parties. Despite the fact that Christmas is coming we must also remember that we find ourselves in Advent and with it comes lots of preparation for Christmas. This season is a time to look at ourselves and at the world and ask how we can better prepare ourselves for the arrival of Christ. This preparation requires us to look change in the eyes and to do something about it. This change effects the way we look upon the world, at ourselves, and at the faith.
Pope Benedict XVI in a recent General Audience spoke about the need that the Western World has to reclaim its faith and no longer be "dazzled by the glitter of worldliness." In this address he pointed towards the lack of integration of faith that people have inside of their lives and how this attitude has ultimately harmed Christianity. Our Holy Father pointed out that "the practical atheism of those who say they are Christian but live as if God does not exist is a bigger threat than actual atheism." "While actual atheists often think deeply about God before rejecting belief, practical atheism is even more destructive because it leads to indifference towards faith and the question of God." In the Western World Christianity has long enjoyed being the dominant religion where to not believe would require a true reason. With the tables now being overturned with this indifference of attitude we must reclaim the reason why we believe. We must ask ourselves how we can allow our faith to grow where we can once again believe.
In our Gospel reading we find ourselves being warned that we cannot become drowsy in our faith. The reality of the end of time is pointed out and we are being reminded of the need to not grow idle in our faith. To grow idle in our faith would be agreeing that we are fine living out the practical atheism that Pope Benedict warned about inside of his general audience. We cannot allow ourselves to grow comfortable in our faith giving way for us to become lazy and accepting of things that might be contrary to the faith. Instead we are being called to stay awake and to prepare ourselves for the arrival of Christ. The season of Advent is about preparing ourselves to be vigilant in our preparation for the reality that we will one day stand before the Son of Man. As we prepare ourselves to stand before the manger of Christ on Christmas morning during this great season of Advent we should work hard at using these four weeks to transform our lives from the moral and spiritual chaos that might be found in order to rediscover God.
Our second reading from the first book of Thessalonians gives us the challenge to continue to endure in the instructions that were given to us through The Lord Jesus. As we have been given these instructions by Christ we cannot turn away from them, but must continue to trust in The Lord all the more. Our first reading from Jeremiah reminded the people of the need to continue to live a life that is morally upright in the eyes of God. Despite all the hardships that these people have encountered they were given hope in the one who was to come. The days are indeed coming for us when The Lord will come into our lives through the season of Christmas. We now prepare ourselves for the arrival of this season during Advent. We must ask ourselves what ways we have grown indifferent to religion. We must ask ourselves where we continue to stumble along the path towards Christ. We must accept our many imperfections and allow Christ to take a hold of each of them as we hope that our faith can grow a new.
If we will ever be able to overcome these hardships we must begin to work on three things within our world. Firstly, we must have a concern to help restore the wonder of creation to the world. As a society we have lost our ability to look upon creation with wonder and instead desire to explain everything away avoiding the reality of a creative intelligence. Secondly, we must restore the wonder that is found within humanity. According to St. Augustine: "truth dwells in the heart of man." The problem that we face is a lack of time to reflect upon what is taking place within our hearts. We live in a very noisy and busy world and often fail to allow Christ to enter into our hearts through prayer. We must work on our ability to stop in the midst of this noise and return to God. Lastly, we must return to our understanding of faith. The breakdown of faith has led us away from encountering God each day who transforms our lives in every area possible. It is a no wonder that Pope Benedict has declared this year as the "Year of Faith."
As we enter into Advent with the invitation to be prepared may we do things that can aid us in rediscovering these important elements. Working hard with our understanding of the world, ourselves, and the faith that we share will assist us in overcoming the practical atheism that is so prevalent within our society. To challenge ourselves to grow in these three aspects we will be working hard to truly come to an understanding of the Christmas season that we are preparing for. May we look for ways during this time of preparation to reorient ourselves to the creative order of the world which brings about the fact that all was created by God. May we look for ways where we can silent our lives and return to allowing Christ to remain at life's center. This can be done through prayer at home, an hour before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, through the Holy Rosary, and through realizing our need for the Lord's mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May we search out ways that can help us to grow in our faith. Now would be the perfect time to enter a bible study group or to read a good book concerning the faith. Pope Benedict recently released his third and final installment of "Jesus of Nazareth" which conveniently concerns itself with the infancy narratives. This book or another one of spiritual significance would assist in our quest to reclaim our faith. During this season of Advent may we do all that is possible to lift up our soul to The Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment