The Season of Advent
The season of Advent begins on the First Sunday of Advent and continues until Christmas. This season has a two-fold character. First of all, it is a time when we focus on waiting in joyful expectation for the second coming of the Lord at the end of time. For that reason, on the First Sunday of Advent, we hear in the gospels of the three-year cycle about staying awake for the coming of the Son of Man, about being watchful and alert since we do not know when he will come, and about the Son of Man coming with power and great glory.
As Advent progresses, however, the first coming of Christ becomes more prominent. He is the Son of God and the Son of Mary as well as the baby born in Bethlehem who will suffer, die, and rise again for our salvation. The Second Sunday of Advent, therefore, has John the Baptist crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord. The Third Sunday of Advent again features John the Baptist hearing about the miracles of Christ, instructing the people that there is one among them whose sandal strap he is not worthy to untie, and then teaching that there is someone mightier than he who is coming and who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Then, at last, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we hear in the gospel of how the birth of Jesus Christ came about, of Mary saying to the Archangel Gabriel: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, and the exclamation of Elizabeth at the visitation: How is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Source: Rev. Kurt Belsole, OSB, Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA
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