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Smooth Transition

Magic Kit

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


We see a tonal shift in Scripture as we move from the last week of the liturgical year, with its cataclysmic images of the end times, into the first week of Advent, representing in a way the utter beginning of salvation history. But it is not a jolting transition. It is a smooth, nuanced shift, with some tonal aspects remaining the same, and others changing.

Today’s readings still have a focus on the end times–very much like the Gospel passages throughout the past week, Jesus admonishes us to be watchful so that the last day of our lives and of history do not catch us by surprise,

The first reading too looks toward those end days, but with a change: It is a prayer for God to hasten them, to show His face. In fact, we could do much worse than to use this particular Scripture passage from Isaiah as an ardent prayer to God for our sinful world, that He will infuse it with His grace, cleanse it, and bring it back to Him, precisely in preparation–however remote or imminent–for His return. It is a beautiful prayer, full of passion and zeal for what is good, and for conversion.

Also, though, the scriptures of this first Sunday of Advent already start to hint at what the world so long ago pined for–the first coming of the Messiah. The first reading in particular provides a beautiful meditation on the world’s deep-seated need for Him to come. And, we can use that meditation as a preparation for Christmas–begging him through that prayer in the first reading to come to us and transform our hearts like never before.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Try praying the first reading as a prayer; try putting your heart into it as you do so. You know your sins, and how sometimes your failures have a way of repeating themselves; beg of Him the grace of true conversion and healing that only He can bring. And, implore Him to visit you and transform you this Christmas like He has never done before.

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Done Like Dinner

Dinner

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


The flow of Scripture over the course of the liturgical year is rich in signification.

It is interesting how the Scriptures from final days of the liturgical year dovetail like hand in glove with those of the rebirth of the liturgical year, in Advent. In Advent, in addition to commemorating and contemplating that time in history when the world silently and breathlessly awaited the arrival of its Savior, Scripture also encourages us to contemplate and anticipate the second and final coming of Jesus.

That coming of Jesus in the end times is precisely what Scripture commemorates also at the end of the liturgical year, which symbolically represents the close of salvation history.

On days like today, we hear about the world trembling to its foundations, and the Son of Man coming upon a cloud.

There are two realities at work in our world. The first is the fundamental orientation of humankind, which is an orientation based on original sin toward a sort of mediocre fixation on personal gratification, with a modicum of virtue necessary for social relations. The second is the glorious action of Divine Providence, which, in the midst of human blunt-minded selfishness, sustains not only the workings of mortally wounded nature, but also the limited success of human endeavor.

The first reading shows us, however, that at Jesus’ final coming, the city of selfishness–Babylon–will be definitively brought down.

The current delicate balance of things will not last forever. It is destined for transformation.

Rationalists call the dramatic foretellers of an imminent apocalypse among us insane, inasmuch as these doomsayers place too much weight on catastrophes which they claim signify the end times.

In truth, these apocalyptic sorts are not mistaken because they see the signs of the end in our time–their only mistake is to fail to see them in all times. Everything about our world, with this delicate balance between benevolent, powerful, yet subtle Providence, and the catastrophic effects of sin, screams and has always screamed: “It Cannot Go On. It Is Destined to End.”

All of which turns our hearts once again to the topic of eternity. A life spent oriented toward helping as many as possible to embrace the radical demands of God’s love for the sake of their eternal welfare–such a life is a life well spent.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Imagine as vividly as you can the final coming of Jesus. Imagine it occurring right now. How abrupt it feels! Why did we not prepare for this, when we were so amply warned, not only by Scripture but by the signs all around us? Ask Jesus to help you live with a sense of the imminent end in mind, for whenever it comes, it is the world’s definitive destiny.

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