Bishop Gerald Wilkerson's Advent Message

Advent is a season of preparation. In the retail business world, it is a short time for the cash registers to ring. In our homes and at work, it is a short time for everything to get done so that holiday festivities can happen. In the light of all these external forces, the Church offers us breathing space.

Dear Friends,

Advent has a twofold character. The first task of the praying Church in the Advent season is to affirm our belief in the second coming of Christ at the end of time. We may feel anxiety at the thought of God’s coming because if we are honest, we must admit that there are many ways in which we are not ready to meet the Lord. Nevertheless, in our Mass we say that “we wait in joyful hope.” So Advent first of all is a time for changing our lives and waiting in joyful hope for the final coming of our Savior. How will this entire year prepare us for Christ’s coming at the end of time? How shall we live in this time between the first and second comings of Christ? What sort of person shall we be? How will our lives this year help to make the world a more just and loving place, so that when Christ comes again he will find us ready?

From Dec. 17 onward, the emphasis of Advent changes to highlight the birth of Jesus Christ. So the second task of the praying Church in Advent is to focus on the coming of Christ in the flesh, his Incarnation. We are called to remember how Jesus entered into the world by being born of Mary of Nazareth. When Christ comes into our personal lives we know that things will change. Advent is therefore a time to hear again the call to continuing conversion, the call to change our hearts and our lives.

Advent is a season of preparation. In the retail business world, it is a short time for the cash registers to ring. In our homes and at work, it is a short time for everything to get done so that holiday festivities can happen. In the light of all these external forces, the Church offers us breathing space. The promise of Christ’s coming speaks to our longing and restless hearts and helps us find our center in the midst of so many distractions. Make time for prayer and reflection; savor the time set aside for Sunday Mass; enter humbly into the Penance celebrations. The preparation of your heart and your soul is key to celebrating Advent.

— Bishop Gerald Wilkerson