Season’s Greetings

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Dear Reader,

As I write this, seven days before Christmas, I am reminded by the daily Scripture readings that we are in the midst of Advent, a season when we are meant to prepare our hearts to receive our Savior. It is a time of year when we sing aloud our desire for peace on Earth and goodwill toward all humankind, when we smile at strangers and offer season’s greetings. We gather for holiday parties, donate to charities that serve those less fortunate than we, and give gifts.

As I was reflecting on what to write in this column, it occurred to me that the only gift I have to give you, who are gracious enough to grant me your attention, is these words on the page. This week, instead of using this column to share my thoughts, I would like to use it to offer prayers for you.

I ask God that this Advent season of prayer culminate in your heart becoming more open to him. I pray that you rejoice in the coming of Christ into the world and into your life, and that you come to understand more fully God’s love and the mystery of the Incarnation. “The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God” [CCC457]; “the Word became flesh so that thus we might know God’s love” [CCC458]; “the Word became flesh to be our model of holiness” [CCC459]; “the Word became flesh to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature’” [CCC460]. (All italics original.) I pray that you become more reconciled with God, that you know more fully his love, that you become a more complete model of holiness, and that you partake more perfectly of the divine nature.

This third week of Advent is also a time when we sing the “O” Antiphons, on which I base the following prayer: I pray that you walk the path of knowledge, that you allow God to rescue you with his mighty power, that you open yourself to Christ’s salvation, and that you denounce the darkness of the sin that keeps you imprisoned. I pray that the splendor of eternal light shines upon you, and that in your hour of need or death the Emmanuel comes to save you.

Not everyone shares in the joy of the season. Death and misery abound today even as it did 2,000 years ago, when the world unknowingly received the Emmanuel. We or our loved ones may have fallen ill or are struggling with addiction. Some have died. Jobs have been lost. Prospects of love, of prosperity, of joy, have been dashed. There is war, famine, floods, plagues and earthquakes, all of which bring darkness that threatens to extinguish our hope, but we must cling to the promise that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” [John 1:]. My prayer is that, whatever darkness has descended in your life, you are able to look beyond it to see the light of Christ, and find comfort in him.

The third Sunday of Advent also is known as Gaudete Sunday, after the Latin word that means “rejoice.” This is the first word of the Entrance Antiphon for the Mass: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” For those whose lives are full of rejoicing, I pray that you share that joy with everyone: your family, your friends, your neighbors, the strangers you encounter, and especially those whose lives are touched by darkness. For those living with darkness, I pray that you can find solace in God. For everyone, I pray that God will reveal that he indeed is near, and that when he comes at Christmas he arrives not only in the manger bed but also in your heart.

Merry Christmas!

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic. Reach her at marie@icatholic.org.