- Feb 5, 2002
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‘Advent’ does not mean ‘expectation,’ as some may think. It is a translation of the Greek word parousia, which means ‘presence’ or, more accurately, ‘arrival,’ i.e. the beginning of a presence. In antiquity, the word was a technical term for the presence of a king or ruler and also of the god being worshiped, who bestows his parousia upon his devotees for a time. ‘Advent,’ then, means a presence begun, the presence being that of God.”
— Pope Benedict XVI, Dogma and Preaching
I have been asked more than once, particularly by my evangelical friends, why Catholics and mainline Protestant Christians put so much stock in “ritualistic” sorts of things not explicitly spelled out in Scripture, things like Advent, and its trappings — the purple vestments, the Advent wreaths and colored candles; the season of “light penance” as we anticipate once again the birth of Christ. “Jesus came once for all; he doesn’t keep coming,”a friend argued. “Christmas is a wonderful season. Why do you need a whole Advent season, too? What’s the point?”
It’s all right. Christ’s birth has, of course, happened already. But if my professors were correct about the constructs of time, it is happening still (and so is the passion of Christ and the Resurrection, but let’s save that for April!). Intellectually, my friend understands that, but in terms of faith, my friend’s sola scriptura is resolute, and, therefore, our Catholic traditions seem confounding.
My response to her exasperation was to remind her where I had been a year earlier — at the deathbed of a beloved brother — and where I was a year later, and where I would be a year after that. “Christ is constant,” I said, “but our lives are not. We can get so caught up in things, in working, paying bills, making deadlines, tending to our families. …”
Continued below.
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— Pope Benedict XVI, Dogma and Preaching
I have been asked more than once, particularly by my evangelical friends, why Catholics and mainline Protestant Christians put so much stock in “ritualistic” sorts of things not explicitly spelled out in Scripture, things like Advent, and its trappings — the purple vestments, the Advent wreaths and colored candles; the season of “light penance” as we anticipate once again the birth of Christ. “Jesus came once for all; he doesn’t keep coming,”a friend argued. “Christmas is a wonderful season. Why do you need a whole Advent season, too? What’s the point?”
It’s all right. Christ’s birth has, of course, happened already. But if my professors were correct about the constructs of time, it is happening still (and so is the passion of Christ and the Resurrection, but let’s save that for April!). Intellectually, my friend understands that, but in terms of faith, my friend’s sola scriptura is resolute, and, therefore, our Catholic traditions seem confounding.
My response to her exasperation was to remind her where I had been a year earlier — at the deathbed of a beloved brother — and where I was a year later, and where I would be a year after that. “Christ is constant,” I said, “but our lives are not. We can get so caught up in things, in working, paying bills, making deadlines, tending to our families. …”
Continued below.
What's the point of Advent?
As we prepare to mark the beginning of Advent, Elizabeth Scalia writes in a new essay for Our Sunday Visitor about the reason we celebrate the special liturgical season. “Advent coaxes us out. We look up and there is a darker sky than before. The stars show more clearly, and they inspire us to...
www.oursundayvisitor.com
