Advent: The Great Season of Incarnational Anticipation
To many, Advent appears as "pre-Christmas". For others, it the season of holiday wreaths and gift buying. But for us Catholics, it holds one of the great mysteries of our faith.
The history behind the sights and symbols of the season of Advent are multifaceted and extraordinary. And during this season of Advent, we become acquainted once more with the violet that adorns the majority of our liturgies throughout this holy season. For a moment, I want us to reflect on this violet.
Violet does not appear to be the natural choice for Advent. For the Church, violet is a penitential color that many of the faithful associate with the season of Lent rather than Advent. Yes, Advent is a penitential season! But many of us do not like to think about that in the middle of preparing for Christmas. Violet, too, has historically been the color of royalty. And in this sense, we can make an allusion to Christ the King, which we celebrated just this past Sunday. However, the color itself can be imbued with even more theological vigor.
Take for instance that violet is a combination of both red and blue. In the Church, the common associations for each of these colors respectively is passion and hope. Therefore, Advent can be called the anticipation of the seminal passion of Christ along with the hope of His incarnation and second coming. We can also view this as the co-necessity of walking with Jesus and Mary, as she carries the Christ child in her womb leading up to that blessed Christmas morn.
And it is Christ’s birth, the fulfillment of the incarnation and the promise of his second coming, that Advent focuses on. The great fast that we enter as a Church builds our yearning for the great feast of Christmas. Therefore, what we can never lose sight of over the course of Advent, or any other season for that matter, is the incarnational nature of our God. A God who so loves the world, that He chooses to become a part of it (via the fiat “yes” of the Blessed Virgin Mary) so as to redeem it. No other religion can make such a claim. Thus, in honor of our Christ, who draws near to us for our redemption, let us use this Advent season to draw near to Him.
Something that many American Catholics are not aware of is an annual calendar that is published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, or USCCB. The calendar is intended as a guide for the faithful throughout the season of Advent. Each day is marked by: spiritual practices, reminders to perform corporal works of mercy, scripture readings, or some other spiritual or religious practice. If you would like to access a copy, please follow the link below. (And attached to that link is the USCCB page for Advent.)
