In many ways, the Season of Advent that we begin this Sunday is a season of waiting. "The question is: Is the humanity of our time still waiting for a Savior? One has the feeling that many consider God as foreign to their own interests. Apparently, they do not need him. They live as though he did not exist and, worse still, as though he were an "obstacle" to remove in order to fulfill themselves. Even among believers-we are sure of it-some let themselves be attracted by enticing dreams and distracted by misleading doctrines that suggest deceptive shortcuts to happiness. Yet, despite its contradictions, worries and tragedies, and perhaps precisely because of them, humanity today seeks a path of renewal, of salvation, it seeks a Savior and awaits, sometimes unconsciously, the coming of the Savior who renews the world and our life, the coming of Christ, the one true Redeemer of man and of the whole of man" (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience December 20, 2006).
We seek a Savior, even sometimes unconsciously, knowing in the depths of our human hearts that we were made for more than this world and the hum drum of our material lives. We were made to live in glory, yet we are unable to grasp it ourselves. We need to be redeemed, to be renewed by the coming of Christ!
As we enter this holy season, let us wait for the Christ Child in joyful anticipation, preparing our hearts to welcome Him in His coming now, at Christmas, at the end of time, and always. How will you prepare your heart? What are you waiting for?
Written by Kristen
