INTRODUCTION: The Church opens the door of liturgical year with a four-week preparatio - a season of great waiting of joy, hope, peace and love called “Advent.” Advent is a term derived from Latin usage “Adventus” meaning “coming.” In the Christian Church Calendar, it stands for the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also of preparation for the second coming of Christ – our redeemer and messiah. It begins on the Sunday following the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. This mysterious season of waiting is associated with the ancient exclamation of “Maranatha” which is transliterated from the Aramaic in 1 Cor. 16:22, it featured significantly in primitive Christian spirituality. The text according to Ss. Jerome and John Chrysostom, signifies the coming of the Lord, and so is to be taken as an admonition to those who doubted of the resurrection, and is to put them in mind, that Christ, the judge of the living and the dead, is coming already. It is clear from its occurrence in Didache no. 10, in primitive Christian liturgy as well. However, in Aramaic and Syriac the term is in two words “Marana” and “tha”, which is a form of imperative force oriented toward the future, “Come, Our Lord.” In Greek translation, it could as well be presented as the perfect form expressing a complete event in the past, Maran atha meaning “Our Lord has come.” With this in mind, let us journey together to unknot the sacred and joyful mystery enshrouded in this season of waiting, which has a two-fold character: a time of preparation for the festival of the Nativity when the first coming of God’s Son to the world is recalled and a period of reflection pointing us to Christ’s second coming at the end of time.
BIBLICAL IMPULSES: This solemn feast of human redemption which Prophet Isaiah foretold, “… the virgin is with child and will bear a son and will name him Emmanuel” (Is 7:14); and being fulfilled in the gospel pericope of Matthew (cf. Matt. 1:23). This scriptural passage indicates an early Jewish interpretation and expectation about the coming Davidic messiah. And in the New Testament, Matthew made reference to this prophetic message to proclaim that Jesus is the fulfillment of these messianic hopes, which is embedded in a great mystery of waiting in this season of Advent. These four weeks preceding this solemn festival in the annals of history of man’s redemption has a deeper meaning beyond what mere eye can see, words can interpret or human mind can easily conceive. It is entrenched in mystery beyond our understanding. That is why, it remains a joyful mystery of waiting with high hope and anticipation. In the same spirit, Luke Mbefo observed, Advent as not being a transcendental concept pointing to the world to come, but a concept immanent in our everyday life which Jesus Christ during His public ministry often emphasized that the kingdom of God is among us. (cf. Mbefo, L. N., The Liturgical Year in Action, Onitsha: Spiritan Publications, 1997, p. 11).
CHURCH AND THE SPIRIT OF ADVENT: The exact origin of this season is unknown, but following the available documents of the Church we can say that, the remote origin of Advent season is found in the Gallican custom, referring to a time of preparation for the feast of the Epiphany, which was a baptismal feast in the West. It had its season of preparation for Baptism similar to Lent. The main point to note about this early notion of Advent is that it was of an ascetical character rather than of a liturgical season as we have it today. An extract from the New Catholic Encyclopedia, further states that, “In 380AD, the Council of Saragossa ordered for a three week fast before the Epiphany. About 100 years later, the Diocese of Tours kept a fast three times a week beginning with the memorial of St. Martin, a custom that the Council of Macon in 581AD extended to all the Dioceses in France. During the next two centuries the practice found its way to England. At Rome the case was different, since the feast of Epiphany was never a baptismal feast there, the same reason for having a “Lent” before did not exist. When Advent first appeared at Rome, it was a preparation for Christmas and not the Epiphany as a liturgical season rather an ascetical period.
In the course of this season, the church prepares spiritually and liturgically to create the enabling environment for her children to be in-watch while waiting for the coming of our Saviour and Redeemer – Jesus Christ. During this period, the church through sacred readings and prayers directs our thoughts and minds to the mystery of our redemption. The initial part of the season starting from focuses on the second coming of the Lord, while the second part of the season beginning from December 17 to 24 pays attention to the immediate preparation for Christmastide. In this season, we are called to prepare ourselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s coming into the world as the incarnate God of love, thus to make our souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in the reception of the Holy Communion through grace and thereby making ourselves ready for His final coming as judge. These spiritual attitudes will give us that insight to recognize the Lord who comes to us. Though, the Lord is always present in our daily lives, activities and happenings, the season is a reminder to be conscious of His ever abiding presence among us in all facets of life.
We celebrate advent to recall the time in the history of man’s salvation when the word was made flesh but was still hidden, a mustard seed that would eventually become a shrub, an icon for human redemption. In this way, with the spirit of advent, we ought to recognize the finger of God in all events of life, no matter how painful it may be, with hope all will be well. However, during the liturgical celebrations within this season, the church invites us to meditate on the hidden presence of God and at the same time live in hope; since His coming into the world herald hope, comfort, joy, peace and love.
ADVENT AND LITURGY: There was no trace of Advent at Rome until the 6th century. The Gelasian Sacramentary was the first to provide Advent liturgy as it exists today, although the idea of an Advent liturgy may have originated not at Rome but in Ravenna in the 5th century.” (O’Shea, W. J., “Advent” New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 152).
In the light of this, Pope Gregory I developed the Roman Advent Liturgy. He further shifted the season from six weeks to four weeks as we have it presently. He composed prayers, antiphons and responses for this season. When the Roman rite was introduced into Gaul in the 9th century, Gregory’s Advent liturgy went along with it. The emphasis on the second coming which is a striking element in the present Advent liturgy is attributed to the Gallicans. This fusion of the Roman and the Gallican Advent found its way back to Rome in the 10th century, giving the Church the rich Advent liturgy. Many of us today find it difficult to contend with the idea of two comings, contrasted in the Advent liturgy. For the fathers of the church, with their unified vision of the mysteries of Christ, which posed no problem. That is why Pope St. Leo the Great, for example, in his sermons for Christmas and Epiphany, led his hearers and readers beyond the mystery of the incarnation and manifestation to the contemplation of Christ now enthroned in glory and to His return at the end of the ages. F. Nogues writes, “The mystery of Christ’s coming is something indivisible. His appearance on earth and the parousia are two aspects of a single redemptive coming which is not yet completed: he who came will come again, and he has told us to watch and wait.” In the same line of thought, the church reminds us about the coming of Christ in all its aspects, past, present and future. This season recalls the coming on earth of the incarnate Word, deepens our awareness of Christ’s presence in the church today and heightens our hope and longing for His return as the king and judge.
PREPARATION FOR ADVENT: The sacred text of the Book of Apocalypse “… behold I will make all things new” (Rev. 21:5), serves as a thriving ground for this season of waiting, which the entire church marks as a new dawn for Christian pilgrimage. This is to be renewed with grace and spirit. Here Evangelist Matthew reporting these words and describing the ministry of the desert preacher - John the Baptist, (cf. Matt 3:3) which is the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophetic utterance, a voice cries, “Prepare in the wilderness a way for the Lord. Make straight highway for our God across the desert. Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, let every cliff become a plain, and the ridges a valley …” (Is. 40:3-4)
This similar clarion call for conversion could be found in the Pauline epistle to the Romans which part of it forms the second reading of First Sunday of Advent year “A”; which St. Paul awakens in us an urgency in our moral efforts. He reminds us that we have already witnessed the new era, and our life here on earth should be in constant waiting for the great Parousia (the second coming of our Lord). This admonition, invoke in us the need to live as ‘children of light’ and bear witness to this truth which is embedded in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer. (cf. Rom.13:11-24). Advent season is not in strict sense penitential as Lenten Season, instead it is a season of joyful hope. This does not imply that we should play down the penitential elements that follow it.
THE LITURGICAL ENVIRONMENT FOR ADVENT: At the beginning of this season, that is after the feast of Christ the King. The liturgical environment takes a new shape with violet or purple as central colour. This same colour could be used for the altar decoration, the lectern, as well as liturgical vestments for priests and other minor ministers. During this season, the chanting or reciting of Gloria is omitted, the playing of the musical instruments and decoration of the altar with flowers should be done with moderation as Ceremonial of Bishops no. 236 stated. Also Order of Matrimony no. 32 states that, “the same moderation accorded the former should be observed in the celebration of Holy Matrimony.” In the Advent liturgical history, Pope Pius V’s lectionary missal had nineteen readings for Advent. In the lectionary promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969, there are no fewer than seventy-five pericopes for the pre-Christmas season. If one takes into account the three-year cycle of readings, it means that we now have twelve liturgical celebrations for the four Sundays of Advent. These celebrations have an organic unity and are complementary to one another. From Sunday to Sunday there is a progression of thought and theme: the first two Sundays announce the coming of the Lord in judgment, the third expresses the joy of a coming already very near, the fourth and last ‘appears as a Sunday of the fathers of the Old Testament and the Blessed Virgin Mary, in anticipation of the birth of Christ’. (Excerpt from the Commentary on the Roman Calendar, Section 2, ‘The Advent Season’). As for the weekday readings, they are adapted to the theology expressed in the Sunday celebration which preceded them.
The season of Advent ushers in a lot of varieties to spice up our spirituality. Michaelann Martin’s, Catholic Traditions for Advent and Christmas brings to limelight these features in some spectacular ways. For Michaelann, the season traditionally is decorated with a wreath which has German origin. It is probably the most recognized Advent custom. It is a wreath made of evergreens that is bound to a circle of wire. It symbolizes the many years from Adam to Christ in which the world awaited its Redeemer; it also represents the years that we have awaited His second and final coming. The wreath holds four equally spaced candles, the three purple ones lit on the penitential Sundays and a pink one for Gaudete - the joyful third Sunday in Advent. Other significant symbols of this season are: “The Jesse tree” which tells about Christ’s ancestry through symbols and relates Scripture to salvation history, progressing from creation to the birth of Christ, the Christ candle is yet another features for this great season, etc. (cf. Martin, M., Catholic Traditions for Advent and Christmas, Lay Witness, December 1998).
Advent season symbolizes the presence of the Church in these “last days” (cf. Acts 2:17; Heb. 1:2), as God’s people wait with joyful hope for the return of the Messiah in glory to consummate His eternal glory. This great waiting is similar to the Israelites of the old in exile waiting and hoping in prayerful expectation of the coming of the Messiah. Israel looked back to God’s abundant grace on them by leading them out of the land of captivity, and on this basis they called for God once again to act for them. In the same way, we the pilgrim church in the course of this season look up to Christ’s glorious return.
CONCLUSION: Finally, the season of Advent ends with Christmas Eve. As we journey with the church within this season of prayer, reflection on the mystery of Christ’s nativity and His glorious return; let us be mindful of the fact that this is a new dawn of our spirituality. It is a moment of renewal, of growing in intimacy with Jesus and in an ever deeper understanding of Him in our lives. To crown it all, we are awaiting the word made flesh, who pitches His tent among us, and His glory covers us (cf. Jn. 1:14). Also, let us not forget in haste the words of Pope Benedict XVI who avers “Advent is the spiritual season of hope par excellence and in this season the whole Church is called to be hopeful, for herself and for the whole world.” As we are awaiting the arrival of our Redeemer, let us pray to God that, His only begotten son may find a befitting abiding place in our hearts so that we may radiate this joyful mystery of waiting, with hope, peace and love wherever man is found.
