Advent is a season of prayer, penance, and preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas. It is a season to pray and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. And it is a season that challenges us (in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holidays) to pause, to be quiet (even for just a few moments), and to consider what is about to happen in our world when a poor child is born among us in a faraway place called Bethlehem.

Think of the greatest journey of your life. Perhaps it was your honeymoon. Perhaps it was a memorable vacation with family and friends. Perhaps it was a pilgrimage to some holy place. Or perhaps it was leaving home and living on your own for the first time. Think about the new sites, new sounds, and new challenges. Think about the new joys, new experiences, and all of the life-changing memories. Now imagine that same great journey with a heart closed to love, new friends, and new experiences. Imagine that same great journey with a mind closed to new cultures and new ideas. Suddenly, your life’s greatest journey loses its luster.

Now imagine a whole life with a closed heart and a closed mind. Imagine a whole life that is not changed or renewed or transformed each and every year by the Miracle of Christmas. Then imagine a whole world where everyone refuses to open their hearts and minds. Imagine a world where Mary says: “No, I am too young for such a big responsibility.” Imagine a world where Joseph says: “No, I am not raising someone else’s child.” Imagine a world where the shepherds say: “No, we are too busy to follow a star.” Imagine a world where the Magi say: “No, we are too rich and powerful to pay homage to a newborn king.” Then a imagine a world where people still say: “No, there is no room for you here.”

During Advent, the Church does not offer bling or blinking lights. It offers a simple wreath and four candles. It offers the warmth of our humble efforts at prayer, fellowship, and service. And it offers us the opportunity to discover (or rediscover) the life-changing experience of Christ’s birth at Christmas. This season of discovery reminds us that God intervenes into the darkness of human history. It reminds us that God humbles himself and is born among us as a poor child. This child comes to save each and every one of us; and to save our long-suffering world. And here is the best part about this season of discovery: We don’t have to go on a long journey. God comes to us!

God comes to us in the form of a child. God comes to us in the form of a child who is all love and all mercy, all friendship and all goodness, all patience and all kindness. God comes to us just as he came to Mary and Joseph, to the prophets and shepherds, to the Magi, to the apostles and first believers, and to all of the saints. God reaches out to us with an embrace of end- less love, friendship, and mercy. He reaches out to each and everyone of us. All we have to do is reach back and welcome him into our lives with open hearts, open minds, and open arms.

During Advent, this season of discovery, let us pray for the courage to embark on a spiritual journey that leads to the blessed stable in Bethlehem. Let us pray for the grace to reflect on the true meaning of the season. Let us open our minds to the Christmas miracle that will soon occur in our midst. Let us prepare to welcome the Christ Child into our hearts. And let us prepare to reach back to God, who forever reaches out to us with his boundless love and mercy.

Cliff Garvey
Associate Minister
Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport
Contact: cgarvey@ccgronline.com

PASTOR’S NOTE