The Comings of Christ

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. It seems rather fitting, that as we approach the winter and the darkest days of the year, we prepare for the coming of Christ. The first coming of Christ was also set in darkness – the darkness of a night in Bethlehem, the darkness of a place which would not accommodate a young pregnant woman, the darkness that ruled over Judea in the form of the tyrant king Herod. Yet it was in this darkness that the light of Christ began to shine – a star rose above Bethlehem, the angels proclaimed God's glory, and the three wise men bowed down to the infant king.

Now, as back then, we still live in a world of darkness. Over the last few months and years we've all heard many worrying stories in the news – stories about nuclear proliferation, financial meltdown, flu pandemics and environmental catastrophe. Some of these predictions might be scaremongering, but then again, there's the real possibility that some of these predictions might come true. It can be tempting to resort to denial or despair, a feeling that whatever we do, it's not going to make much difference. But we must resist such temptations. Such signs are a reminder of our need for conversion; it is worth doing something. With the hope of Christ's coming, we can face reality, see that there is light shining in the darkness, and be confident that the darkness will never overcome it.

The Advent Calendar

The opening of the little window in our Advent calendar was a very solemn family ritual when I was a child, performed just before my brother and I were packed off to bed. As we got closer and closer to Christmas day the knot of excitement in my stomach used to get bigger and bigger ... Advent calendars are often at the heart of little family traditions. For me, this emphasizes the communal dimension of this liturgical season. We, as a community, as a Church, wait in hope for the glorious coming of our Saviour. We count the days, just as Mary, Mother of God and symbol of the Church, must have counted down the days until the birth of her child.

We wait in hope for the coming of the Son of God, born of Mary. We wait in expectation, but there must also be preparation. Every family makes ready a place for a new baby in the weeks and months before the child is born. In this season of Advent we must prepare ourselves to receive Christ once more.

My father once told me that when he became a parent there was not one part of his life that was not compromised. The responsibility of caring for a fragile and delicate human life touched every corner of his world. I think in many ways this is a good image of the spiritual life. Christ breathes new life into our souls. Through baptism we are born anew. We must nourish and care for this new life inside us, and allow the grace of God to fill our entire being.

Christ is calling us to prepare a way for him, our response must embrace every dimension of our lives.

Saints in Advent - St Francis Xavier

St Francis Xavier, whose feast we keep on 3^rd December, was born in 1506 in Spain, but as a young man was sent to Paris to study. There he met a fellow Spaniard, St Ignatius of Loyola, who inspired Francis Xavier and six others of his fellow-countrymen to form the Society of Jesus. Having been ordained a priest in 1537, Xavier was sent as a missionary to India as soon as the Jesuits had been formally approved in 1539. He spent the rest of his life on mission, based in Goa, but travelling all around the Far East, most famously to Japan, where he spent two and a half years, and China, where he was headed when he died on an island just off the Chinese coast in 1552. In the course of his ten years of mission, many spent living in the most basic conditions, he preached the Gospel to many different peoples and converted thousands.

It is particularly appropriate that we celebrate this Patron Saint of foreign missions, famous for his apostolic zeal, in this season of Advent, which reminds us of the urgency of preaching the Gospel message in its focus both on Christ's first coming at Christmas, and his second coming. In the first, our preparation for the celebration of the Incarnation helps us better to appreciate the 'glad tidings of great joy' (Luke 2: 10) which we are called to share with all peoples, as the angel did with the shepherds at Bethlehem. As for the second, this season reminds us that we 'know not the day or the hour' (Matt. 24: 36) of that coming, encouraging us not to delay but to prepare ourselves and others for that day with the zeal exemplified by St Francis Xavier.

The Advent Wreath

One of the most beautiful, familiar and striking traditions of this season is the Advent wreath. Placing lighted candles around a wheel made of foliage during winter had been practised by the pre-Christian Germanic and Scandinavian peoples as a symbol of their hope in the god of light turning “the wheel of the earth” back towards the sun to lengthen the days and restore warmth. As the people of Northern Europe were converted to the faith, this pagan practice was Christianised for obvious reasons: humanity had been "sitting in the darkness and in the shadow of death". Christ comes as “the Light that came into the world” to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God. By the Middle Ages this practice had taken on further and more formalised symbolism.

The circular wreath, having no beginning nor end and made up of evergreen leaves, symbolised the eternity, unity and completeness of God and the new everlasting life promised by Christ. The leaves used also pointed to the passion and resurrection of our Lord: the prickly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns; the laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew, immortality; and cedar, strength and healing. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. One tradition is that each week represents one thousand years, making up the biblical 4,000 years from Adam and Eve until the birth of the Saviour. The colours correspond to the liturgical colours of the season: three violet and one rose (for Gaudete Sunday). In Germany the candles are all red, a custom that is observed in the present Papal household. The Advent wreath is a visual sign of our Advent journey and therefore it has become the practice to light a fifth, white, central candle or the Christ Candle, at the first Mass of Christmas to remind us that the incarnation is at the heart of all our preparation for Christmas.

Institution of Acolytes

On Monday 30th November, the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, three of our brothers, fr Graham Hunt OP, fr Mark Davoren OP and fr Gregory Pearson OP were instituted as acolytes by the Prior Provincial, fr John Farrell OP, during the Conventual Mass.

The acolyte's function is to assist the priest and deacon: "it is his duty therefore to attend to the service of the altar and to assist the deacon and the priest in liturgical celebrations, especially in the celebration of Mass". The acolyte is instituted to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion when there are not enough priests and deacons, to take communion to the sick, and to expose the Blessed Sacrament for the adoration of the faithful. However, the acolyte may not give Benediction. For clerical brothers of religious institutes and seminarians, being instituted as an acolyte is seen as a step towards ordination, God willing, that enables the brother or seminarian to take a more active role in the sacramental and pastoral service of the community.

As he passes from lector to acolyte, the increased intimacy with the Sacrament of the Altar that comes with his being instituted, requires of him a greater

love for the Lord and his Mystical

Body, the Church, so that what is symbolised in the Sacred Liturgy might truly represent the reality of the community. So the acolyte not only assists at the Eucharist but also brings Holy Communion to the sick and housebound helping them to maintain their link with the sacramental life of the Church.

In his homily and address to the candidates, the Provincial pointed out that it was apt that the brothers should be instituted on this feast day, as St. Andrew is shown as the "first acolyte" when he brought the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus before the feeding of the five thousand. He went on the instruct the candidates to serve at the altar and in the Church community gracefully and with love.

The History of Advent

Happy New Year! Well, liturgically speaking anyway, as we now enter the season of Advent. This period in the Church’s calendar is one where we encounter themes of expectation, preparation and penance. Advent, derived from the Latin adventus meaning ‘coming’, can be most fruitfully regarded as a period of dual preparation. Firstly we look, over the next four weeks, toward the celebration of the birth of Christ our Saviour and secondly we prepare for His second coming in fulfilment of the scriptures.

Though the exact institution of the liturgical season of Advent in the Church’s calendar is a little obscure, we understand the celebration of the Nativity of Lord to have been established some time in the late 4th century (some celebrating it on Dec 25th others on Jan 6th), and as such a suitable preparatory period would have accompanied this. A Synod held in 590 established that Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 11th November until the Feast of the Nativity would be observed according to the Lenten rite. By the beginning of the 7th century matters were formalised and Advent was celebrated over five consecutive Sundays until this number was reduced to the present four under Pope Gregory VII, whose papacy ran from 1073 until 1085.

A heavy emphasis was traditionally laid upon fasting and other works of penance, further emphasised by the use of the liturgical colour purple, signifying both penance and by its royal connotations, the coming of Christ as our King. Today we often see a shift of emphasis from the more penitential origins of Advent to one focused upon ‘joyful expectation’. However, it would be wise for us to try and strike a balance in our own spiritual preparations as it is only in truly humbling ourselves before God, in full awareness of our sinful nature, that we can realise the importance of the coming of Christ the Redeemer in our lives.

Saints in Advent - St Andrew

In Germany, we have got lots of these St. Andrew’s crosses. When you go through the country, you can see these red and white crosses everywhere. This is not the expression of a great devotion of this apostle, but St. Andrew’s crosses indicate in my country that vehicles on rails have right of way and that you are approaching a level crossing.

Even if this road sign is not intended to have a religious meaning it can express two things. On the one hand we read in the Bible (Matthew 4:18-22) that after having been called by Jesus at the Sea of Galilee Andrew and his brother Peter follow the Lord immediately without thinking through what they are about to do. They must have felt the singularity of that moment. Now or never. So they lay everything aside and follow this man being unknown to them at that point. They must have felt that they had just encountered someone who is bigger than them, someone they have to “give right of way to”. As Christians, we are not the 'number one' in our life. There is someone else who should have priority. When you approach a level crossing, you must be careful to let an approaching train pass. So is it with God. You have to be careful not to miss him when he wants to call you.

On the other hand, the St. Andrew’s cross reminds us that a Christian life is not always a nice walk. The apostle Andrew himself was tortured to death on a cross like our Lord. Even if we don’t have to face being crucified, we are called to bear our cross. It can be quite difficult to live love and forgiveness when the people around us just reckon us as losers because of our way of life. It can be difficult to be at the service of others when people just think of their own interest. We don’t have to look for a cross. A Christian life taken seriously is often difficult enough so that one can ask oneself why such a life is worthwhile. When we dare to live as Christ showed us how to live, we will know the same experiences as he and Andrew because things have not changed since that time.

But our Lord’s and St. Andrew’s life also show us that this life is worth being lived. Like our Lord, Andrew’s life did not end shamefully on the cross. We believe him to be in the presence of our God who wants us also to “have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). That’s why we should give him right of way so that he can give us life in abundance.