Liturgical Year of 2018

My Dear Parishioners,
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today we begin the new liturgical Year of Grace 2018 on this First Sunday of Advent. The Scriptural texts which are proclaimed to us as we come to celebrate the Lord’s Day speak about the Lord’s revelation to His people. In the Old Testament reading the Prophet Isaiah says, “ No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him.” In those times God had shown himself through the mighty deeds which were performed for Israel so that they might be assured of the Lord’s fidelity even when they strayed from that covenant relationship. King David, the traditional author of the Psalms, yearned that the Lord might show Himself more wondrously, “ Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.”
 
It was at the kairos moment that God had sent His Only Begotten Son into the world to show us His love manifested in Jesus. In today’s epistle reading the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians. “…you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yes, the Christians of first century Corinth and the 21 century Christians of today recall the Lord Jesus’ words that “ you do not know when the time will come.” We are waiting for the Lord’s second coming so that the Kingdom of God may be established in all its glory and that the forces of evil will be defeated as Christ comes to judge the living and the dead.
 
Advent is the season which prepares us for the Lord’s revelation in the final age when He will return as judge of all the world. This season also prepares us to once again celebrate the feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas. This is a time of preparation and waiting, an attitude which should mark everyday of our life.
 
As we await the revelation of Christ we also know that He shows Himself in the needy and the sick. In this season I ask that you participate in the AD VENT TREE PROJECT which will once again provide a gift at Christmas for those who are experiencing difficulties. Your generous spirit will bring joy to someone in need. What a wonderful opportunity we have to bring the light of Christ into the darkness of the world.
 
As we also await let us remember that this is also a perfect time to approach the sacrament of penance and to embrace acts of fasting and abstinence, especially on Friday, in preparation for Christmas as has been the venerable tradition of the Church Universal.
 
Let us prepare ourselves to meet the Lord, “ Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming…May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: WATCH!”
 
Happy New Year!
Father Zig