A New Advent

Since this is the first week of Advent, I decided it to be an appropriate time to start the blogging with the start of the Catholic new year.

This is an exciting time, especially for those who can grasp the magnitude of the season.  I have not always been one of those.  In fact, this is probably the first year in which I have made an effort to take part in this season of the Church.

Advent is a beginning, a time of newness and even re-creation.  It comes from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming."  That is exactly what the Gospel (Mk 13:33-37) from Sunday is aiming at. Jesus tells his disciples that they "do not know when the time will come." Yet, they must be ever watchful, for the time will come, whether it be tomorrow or 10,000 years from now.  Advent helps to remind us of that.  Because Christ's coming is imminent now that Christmas is upon us, we prepare through watching including penance, mortifcation, relection, alsmgiving, and other Christo-centric acts.

The first reading (Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7) sets the tone for these preparations.  We have gone astray and forsaken God; Isaiah laments that the Lord has let His people fall away.  Isaiah has begun his preparation; he is aware of the distance that has grown between man and God, and he beseeches the Lord, confessing that His people have angered Him and that they must be saved and delivered from their sinful ways.  There is no hope in the prophet's lamentations, only a strong sense of remorse and firm purpose to be cleaned.  The people of the Lord have become soiled and muddy with their sins, yet amidst this, Isaiah recalls that God is our Father, the artist who fashions us from the dirt, the clay that we are.  And so, it is through our sin by means of penance, mortification and other preparations that we will be formed into the temples we were meant to be. When the waiting and watching is done, the Incarnation will be not only the coming of Christ to the world, but the coming of Christ into our hearts, and with the indwelling of Christ we will be better prepared for the which we know not when.

The readings from Sunday can be found here.

Formation, Insipiration, Clarification

This new blog is an attempt at a three-fold purpose of education.  I wish to further my knowledge and understanding Holy Mother Church, as well as edify those willing and patient enough to follow, as well as relearn (or refine) the skills of reading, analyzing, and writing.

I'm still trying to decide the means by which I will start.  I have it down to a simple weekly readings analysis for each Sunday's readings.  That will at least get things rolling, and always proves to be relevant on some level, even if just as a reminder of or a precurser to the readings and the homily.  There will probably be extra posts in during the week as thoughts come up or as I discover more intricacies of the True Faith, or insights on the sojourn of the soul toward Christ.

Any suggestions or critiques are fully welcome!

God Bless, and hopefully see you on the weekend!