Celebrating Mass

The Season of Advent is a time of joyful expectation during which we prepare not only for Christmas when we celebrate Christ’s First Coming at the stable in Bethlehem, but also prepare ourselves for his Second Coming when he will return again in glory at the end of time to judge the nations, to do away with all that is evil, and to bring about fully “the new heavens and new earth” where we will no longer see dimly, but rather see God face to face.

The first generation of Christians expected the return of Jesus in glory to be in their own lifetimes. When, however, this does not happen, and some of them begin to die, St. Peter encourages the community with these words: “There is one thing, my friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord, ‘a day’ can mean a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord is not being slow to carry out his promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but he is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways.”

Not surprisingly, the readings chosen for today concern repentance, the call to turn back to God in every way, and they focus our attention upon the truth of our faith that Jesus “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end,” as we profess in the Nicene Creed. As opposed to being something to dread, for faithful Christians this should be something we desperately desire and pray for with hopeful expectation!

Advent is a time to open our hearts more fully to God, and to pray those words in the Our Father with a deeper longing: “Thy kingdom come!”  The Lord’s kingdom will be “the place where righteousness will be at home,” St. Peter explains in the second reading. Is that not a wonderful inheritance? All evil, injustice, sickness, suffering, death, and everything opposed to God’s kingdom will be conquered, while the deepest desires of our hearts to live in God’s presence and under His Rule will be fully realised.

If the Lord’s return in Glory is not something that we eagerly desire, then I would suggest that we are too attached to this present world, and even to things that are at odds with God’s kingdom. Now is the time to re-examine our consciences, to be honest with ourselves and with the Lord, and to ask for the grace to recognise and let go of everything that may be getting in the way of our relationship with Him. I leave you with the words of St. Peter: “Since everything is coming to an end like this, you should be living holy and saintly lives while you await and long for the Day of God to come…  So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace.”

God bless,

Fr Andy

Download Fr Andy’s homily here

Gospel

Mark 1:1-8

Read Here

Alleluia! Alleluia! Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia!