Advent 2011 brings us to both the conclusion of the current liturgical year (Ordinary Time and all) and the beginning of the new liturgical year for 2011-12, which “kicks-off” with Advent.
But this year there will be a great deal more changes in Advent than just the color purple or the more solemn music or the reduced use of flowers in our praise and worship of God. This year we have a huge change in the words of the Mass, with the exiting of the Sacramentary and the introduction of the new Roman Missal, Third Edition. Our Creed has new words, the Gloria has changed, the prayers of Consecration, the great Acclamation and more—new words, new phrases, deeper meaning. In a nutshell, the word changes highlight the idea that at Mass we are doing something very different—different from playing soccer or going to the movies, different from school or work. What we are doing is giving praise and honor to God, the Creator of the world. And we are His creation. It brings us to a deeper reflection of the right relationship between God and us it reminds us that what takes place in the Mass is a dialogue between God and His people, mediated by the priest-presider. Some people will wonder “what’s the big deal?” Some will not give it two seconds notice. Others may question the words or wording of a phrase. And that’s O.K. What we need to do is to understand the meaning of the changes and the reasons for them. More on those points in future bulletins. But for now, let’s talk about the “basic” changes of Advent:
The color Purple, symbolizing both royalty and repentance, is the color of the season of Advent. We are now entering a time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, the coming of God made man and His entrance into humanity and the change that then occurs in our eternal destiny. We now enter a time of penance and joy, a time to reflect on the Lord’s Word in our lives and from that the baptismal call which each one of us shares with Christ and is called to live-out in our lives. From November 27 until December 24 we are in the season of Advent and along with the color purple for the altar and priestly vestments, our music will be more solemn and less in number silence is important; and, save for the third Sunday in Advent, Gaudete Sunday which means Rejoice, both from the word “Gaudete” and the introit of the day’s Mass, we now will decorate the Church on this Gaudete Sunday in Rose or Pink, which is the color of joy. Candles and vestments are rose colored, flowers are introduced, and music blares the joy of our hoped-for anticipation of the coming of Christmas. As well, the Advent wreath is also used to represent the counting down of the weeks of Advent, lighting candles of purple, pink and white within the wreath of the Church at each Mass though blessed only once. A Jesse Tree may also be used, usually barren in stature (last year’s Christmas tree) and decorated with figures and symbols of the Old Testament recalling our past (and pointing us at the same time to the fullness of Jesus Christ found in the New Testament). Dried wreaths made of grapevines, hung on the back wall of the sanctuary, represent a host of ideas of Advent: our lives today frail and weak, not perfect, as we work our way toward God. Decorated with the colors of the season and marking off the four weeks of Advent bows of purple and pink. These dried and crooked wreaths will be replaced with live greenery (Christmas wreaths) symbolizing among other things, our transformation by God into perfection with His grace at the end of time. Dead, crooked wreaths now come alive as evergreens and woven into a perfect unending circle: life with and in God. Even the color of the bows change from purple to red.
As we move closer to the feast of Christmas, around the 18th of December, the stories in the gospel at Mass change from Advent stories to learning more about the lead-up to the Birth of our Savior, Christ the babe. All things begin to culminate in the great Joy of Christmas when we in the Church celebrate the fact that God deemed it vital to leave His celestial Kingdom and to enter into humanity—to intersect, if you will—with creation and to change not only our very way of life but our destiny. He, the God of all, will become one of us and show us by word and physical example what it means to be human and to be made in the likeness and image of God: filling us with the attributes of the Almighty and then flooding us with His Sacramental Grace to carry out His wishes and will in every day life. The words “every day life” are important to emphasize here since it is the coming of God into humanity that makes what might seem “ordinary” become extraordinary by the presence of God. This past week, on Monday, November 21, 2011, the gospel reading was from Luke (21:1-4) and the story was of the poor widow and her two small coins she gave to the temple treasury. It seems like an insignificant act. A miniscule amount of money and yet Jesus lauds her for giving with such love, a pure act of charity, which to the others in the temple that day probably went unnoticed. But Christ noticed it. He notices all acts of love no matter the size. It is this seemingly insignificant act of love that brings with it such grace.
On this same Monday the Church celebrated the memorial of the Presentation of (Blessed Virgin) Mary in the temple by her parents, Anne and Joachim. A typical ritual for a Jewish girl and family of that day. It was business as usual for Mary’s parents and probably went unnoticed by many passing by in the temple area. But insignificant is was not. Mary’s openness to God’s will created many grace-filled opportunities in her life and in the life of the world. Her fiat to God, an act of charity brought with it much grace. As Blessed Mother Teresa has been paraphrased time-and-time again: it is not the size of the gift that matters but the love with which the gift is given. The gift of love brings with it grace, and Grace makes things happen. May this Advent Season be a time of deep reflection and preparation, a time of joy. May it also as we get into the gift giving season of Christmas be a time of generous love, not so much of big gifts but of great love…and may His grace flow to and from all in this gifting season.