1st Sunday of Advent
St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh
3rd December 2023
My friends,
There’s a well know setting of a verse from the prophet Hosea (14:1) which speaks clearly and gently to us at Advent time.
“Come back to me with all your heart
Don’t let fear keep us apart”
It has a refrain which is a refrain on the lips of the Lord
“Long have I waited for
Your coming home to me
And living deeply our new lives”
In the life of the church across the centuries Advent was always a season of hope and expectation as it drew and continues to draw inspiration from the sense of waiting and anticipation of the Old Testament. We too in our time and personally seek to share in that sense of hope and fulfilment with the Lord’s coming anew to our hearts and lives.
We know well the measure to which these pre-Christmas weeks have been hijacked by commercial interests – we can’t blame them too much and most of us enjoy the light and colour all the fuss brings to these dark winter days. In the midst of it all we try to keep some focus on personal spiritual renewal along with a measure of reaching out to those for whom these weeks have more a sense of a bleak, barren wilderness than a joyful celebration and playtime.
There are people who “hate” Christmas – for some because it evokes difficult and painful memories; for others its superficiality gets to them; and for yet others the life mood is just negative – a bit depressed and they can’t lift it. So while the song says it’s a season to be “jolly” it’s simply not possible for some.
Despite that reality for some, for all of us there is always the deeper dimension that is the core of Advent – which is the celebration anew of the God – with – us, of the Lord sharing our humanity, sharing the human condition in all its joy and sorrow. It enables all of us to make that personal inner journey in a spirit of hope – with the assurance of the Lord being with us especially in our darkest moments.
Thinking in this way means we are open of heart and well disposed to the grace of God in our lives – in the words of Isiaih (Is. 64:18) to-day
“Lord, you are our father
We the clay, you the potter
We are all the work of your hand”
In that respect, availing of Confession as part of our Advent journey is to be recommended. Confession is good for the soul – it is a privileged moment to be open to the Lord’s grace and
mercy in a spirit of humility and sorrow. It is a form of “Staying Awake” as St. Mark asks – of living consciously and with awareness.
May this Advent time be for us a time of grace and renewal.
