Advent..... Adventure to Holiness
In some, not all, of my former church experiences, the christian calendar was truncated in the sense that only Christmas Day and Easter morning were celebrated. The seasons of Lent and Advent did not exist for us and I never realized all that I was missing until recently.
What a great blessing this time of year can be for us. Yet another opportunity to pause and refocus on the purpose of our existence here on earth. As the priest lit the Advent wreath's first candle in vigil Mass last night, I was again reminded of all the opportunities God gives us to prepare our hearts and draw closer to him. Prodigal Daughter recently made this comment:
"The God of the universe humbled himself and became like us so that we could spend our lives becoming like Him."
We can use this season as a special time to draw closer to Him and seek holiness. What an adventure!
More on Advent coming up.
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 7:57 AM
2 Comments:
I can only assume that in their haste to jettison anything that even remotely sniffs of "tradition", some Protestant denominations may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
As I was explaining to my evangelical mother on the phone last night, Advent isn't just a good Catholic concept or a good Anglican concept, it is a good Christian concept. Surely the fact that we can take the four weeks before Christmas to spiritually prepare ourselves for the celebration of the birth of our Saviour is something from which anybody can benefit.
Incidentally, a very dear friend of mine who is an evangelical pastor and chaplain has regularly included Advent (and Lenten) reflections in his church bulletins for some time.
I'm excited that Advent is here and really look forward to using it to draw closer to Jesus.
"Advent isn't just a good Catholic concept or a good Anglican concept, it is a good Christian concept."
Excellent point Nancy!
It gives all of us regardless of Church we are affiliated with to take stock and "Let every heart prepare Him room"
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