Bishop Solis’ Advent Message

Intermountain Catholic

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Greetings of Christ’s peace and love!

This Sunday, our Church ushers in the Advent Season, the start of a new liturgical year.

Advent, from the Latin word “adventus,” means coming; it is a reference to a period of waiting and expectation. We will use this time as a four-week spiritual preparation to focus our hearts and attention on the coming of Christ.

The first part of the season focuses on the coming of Christ in glory at the end of time, and the second part draws our attention to his incarnation in human flesh at Christmas. This season is filled with expectant hope and calls every Christian to get ready, to stay awake and to prepare our hearts so that God may find us watchful and vigilant in prayer for Christ’s coming into our lives.

Chances are, many people might miss this season, becoming so distracted by the glitzes of colored lights, early Christmas music, parties, sales pitches for shopping and vacation plans that they do not have time for God. Readiness is the antidote to this self-centeredness, the overly excited attention to our own world, work, personal interests and other concerns. Pope Francis exhorts us to “fight against the idolatries of personal vanity, the thirst for success, self-assertion at all costs and greed for money.”

Christ warned that his coming is unpredictable, like the thief in the night. So, get ready! During this Advent, set a special time for prayer and reflection on the mystery of our salvation. Read the Bible, pray the rosary, and do good works for those in need. Go to Mass more often and encounter his real presence in the Holy Eucharist. Reconcile with God and each other through the Sacrament of Confession, and allow his grace to mold us again as his children.

Winter’s darkness and cold remind us of sin, hatred, violence, injustices and sufferings, while the Advent candle is about the love of God that comes to us in Christ, who brings light, healing, reconciliation, joy and peace. Let us prepare our hearts to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas – the birth of Jesus our Lord, the Emmanuel and Savior who “dwelt among us.” Let our prayer be, “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus, dwell in our hearts!”

Yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis

Bishop of Salt Lake City