The Three Advents

                                                     -Fr. James Conner, OCSO
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 Bernard speaks of three Advents. “We know His threefold coming: to humankind, into humankind and against humankind. To all, He comes without distinction, but not so into all or against all.” The first is that in which God comes to seek and save that which was lost. The second is that Advent by which Christ is present in our souls now. This is taking place at every moment of our life. Christ is passing by and we are judged by our awareness of his passing. The third Advent is when he comes to take us to himself at the end of time. Meditation on the mystery of the first and third Advents will be made fruitful by works of charity and will lead to our complete transformation in Christ.
 
Meditation on the first Advent gives us hope of the promise offered. The remembrance of the third reminds us to fear lest by our fault we fail to receive the fulfillment of that promise. However, if we face this third mystery of Advent with humility and sincerity of heart, we have nothing to fear. Bernard, echoing the Apostle Paul’s promise in 1 Corinthians 11:31, writes: “If we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged.” The second Advent is set in between these two terms. It is necessarily a time of anguish, a time of conflict between fear and joy: fear lest we fail to recognize the coming of the Lord at every moment and joy at recognizing his presence and his call to us in love. But in this second Advent, God comes to us and works mysteriously within us in spirit and in truth in order that the fruit of his work may be made manifest in the third Advent when he comes in glory and majesty.  
To be continued…

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
 
                                                                   Where Christ Reigns
 
Last week we deliberated on the end of time. This week we celebrate the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, to mark the end of the current liturgical year. Next week is the first week of Advent, the beginning of a new Church liturgical year. The weeks seem to progress seamlessly. With Jesus standing astride both liturgical church periods, he knits into a continuous timeline the end and the beginning. When Jesus' influence is writ large upon our day-to-day living, our time and experiences on earth will have meaning and purpose. If and when we permit Jesus to have dominion over our world, he will tie up all the loose ends of our time and universe because he is "the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty" (Rv 1:8).
 
In this Sunday mass Gospel reading from John 18, the Jewish nation and the chief priests and Pilate rejected the kingship of Jesus over their world and life just as our modern world has thrown away Jesus and is deaf to his voice of truth. Yet, the kinship of Jesus testifies to the truth. Jesus says, "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice" (Jn 18:37). The kingdom of Jesus is not of this world, yet his kingdom is present wherever and whenever his children carry out his will. When we pray in the Lord's prayer for God's kingdom to come on earth, we do so with the proviso that we carry out his will on earth as all celestial messengers do in heaven. The dominion of Christ over the world depends on our acceptance of his divine will. In all spheres of our life, Christ must be at the wheel. To the extent we allow Jesus' will be done in our life, to that extent shall he reign.
 
As St. Clement wrote centuries ago, "where Jesus Christ is, there is His reign to be found."  The establishment of His reign or kingdom begins here on earth when we yield our heart, will, mind, soul, body, and actions to him. Christ reigns where there is a perfect submission of our wills to his. He reigns where there is a firm belief in revealed truth and teachings about him. Wherever people strive to keep his commandments, Christ reigns there. He reigns where we dedicate our bodies and members to his service alone. Finally, Jesus reigns wherever people of goodwill carry our his will. For our world to know true peace and perfect love, "all peoples, nations, and languages" must serve him (Dn 7:14).
 
In Christ our Lord,
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 
                                                                   The End
 
When precisely is the world coming to an end? When it comes to an end, how will the world end? Our Christian faith teaches that the world in its present form will end, then a new world- a new earth and a new heaven (Rev. 21:1), will replace it. We profess this doctrine in the Creed we recite on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation: "I believe....in the life of the world to come." So what events will precede the end of the world? How will the world as we know it now come to an end? Jesus addresses those questions in this Sunday Mass Gospel reading, Mk 13: 24-32. 
 
Speaking in apocalyptic language, Jesus says when the time comes, "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be coming from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken."  There will be great cosmic signs that will precede the coming of the Son of Man in glory. These signs will indicate that Jesus is "near, at the gates." Yet, he says in Mk 13:32: "but of that  day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
 
Since no one knows the exact time when all will end, it is a useless effort to speculate. So instead, let's learn a lesson of watchfulness and attentiveness from the fig tree. What we should be doing is staying firm in our faith, staying vigilant. We see enough from the time of Christ to this present time that the Son of man "is near, at the gates. "That is the message about the end-stay vigilant in living the faith. Be persistent in prayers, practicing virtues, and deep love of God and neighbors. Staying awake in these ways is all that matters in the end.
 
In His hope,
Fr. Bernard, OP
 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 
 
                                                                      Lessons in Faith 
 
As the Scripture often tells, does the Lord always give food to the poor or justice to the oppressed? Is it not the case that we still see a lot of poverty, suffering, injustice around us? Where then is God's justice, mercy, compassion in action? From time to time, needy people come to our parish (through St. Vincent de Paul's ministry) seeking help with food, health, or housing? There are still homeless people who walk the streets of Elizabethtown. Is the Lord keeping faith forever, securing justice for the oppressed, and giving food to the poor, as the Psalmist says (Ps. 146:7)? 
 
Yes, God keeps faith; he keeps promises. We need faith to see how this is the case. From the story of the widow of Zarephath (1Kg. 17) and the Widow who gave her all (Mk 12), we are instructed in the faith and true piety. Jesus is not oblivious to the sufferings in the world because he, too, experienced sufferings like us. However, he took the experience of suffering to a different level; we see God's promise ultimately in heaven. He is not indifferent to the problems in the world; he is still at work through us to bring about justice in the world, feed the poor, and reduce human sufferings. But definitively, the fullness of justice and nourishment will be attained in heaven (and this is not a case of religion as an opium for the masses as espoused by Karl Marx). 
 
 What the Scriptures for this Sunday mass present to us are justifications for faith in God. The encounter of the widow of Zarephath with Elijah, the prophet, and the account of the poor widow who gave "her whole livelihood "are lessons in piety and faith. God calls us to embrace this attitude and deed of faith in the face of poverty and injustice we see in the world. God is especially present with the poor, the anawim. The Church, too, has taken an option for the poor. In this is an actual act of faith and piety, let us respond within our God-given human means to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and the establishment of justice for all.  
 
How is God asking you today, in the act of faith and piety, to bring about justice in our world and raise the human dignity of the poor? 
 
 
Fr. Bernard, OP