“As we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our saviour Jesus Christ"
Does the quotation given above read/sound familiar? It should do!
Every time we are present at the Mass, in the Communion Rite, the celebrant addresses a prayer to God the Father which begins “Deliver us O Lord from every evil” and includes these words. It’s a prayer which recognises, not just personal salvation in Christ, but that salvation also includes the whole creation, and that when Christ returns at the end of time (his second coming) this Salvation will be complete and the whole of creation will be made new. This is why the first part of the Advent season (at least until December 17th) reminds us of the final things.
But its that reassuring phrase “waiting in joyful hope” that reminds me so much of this holy season of Advent, which begins today. Advent is our opportunity to reach into the mystery that is human fulfilment in Christ That we are destined to be part of his Kingdom which, at the end of time, he will present to the Father, so that Christ will be all in all.
That should give us a tremendous sense of hope, especially as we pass through this troubled world.
So...the beginning of a new church year...Happy new year by the way! The evangelist for most of our gospel extracts in Sunday Masses will be St Mark. Last liturgical year it was St Matthew, a gospel written with special sympathy for converts to Christianity from the Jewish faith, and one that gives us several parts of the Christmas story.
Above all, we wait in joyful hope with the company of the whole church, of which our parish community is a small but beautifully formed part.
Stay awake! Keep Alert. Christ will return! Fr Steve