Immaculate Conception Church, Wilmington, NC. Photo by Justine Deitz, 2021.
This week many students are wrapping up their semester with projects, papers, and final exams. There are websites and media posts dedicated to helping students successfully “cram” for the final weeks of school. The internet offers various ways to help a student navigate these stressful final days before Christmas Break.
As a faith community, we are moving into the final week of the Advent season and our preparations for the fullness of the Christmas season. Like a student in December, we may feel worried, stressed, and overwhelmed that Christmas is almost here. We may feel that we have not done enough on our Advent journey to prepare our homes and our hearts for the season of the Nativity.
Perhaps we have not prayed as much as we had hoped. Maybe we did not light our Advent wreath as faithfully as we had wanted or maybe we did not get to Church as frequently as we had desired. Our inaction may lead us to believe that it is too late to ignite the spirit of the Advent season or we may be tempted to “cram” the final week of Advent with extra prayers, devotions and services to somehow “make-up” for our late start of the Christmas cycle. This does not always turn out well. We wind up replacing the stress of shopping and decorating with the stress of praying and spiritually preparing. Either way, we are overwhelmed.
A core message of the Christian faith is that it is never too late. At the birth of His Son, God gave the world a second chance. The Nativity of Our Lord is a new beginning for all of creation. In his message at the Angelus in early December, Pope Francis reminded us, “Let us remember one thing: with Jesus, there is always the possibility of beginning again. It is never too late. And let us not let this Advent go by like days on the calendar, because this is a moment of grace, a grace for us too, here and now. There is always the possibility to begin again. Be courageous. Jesus is near to us.”
Since Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, the Fourth Week of Advent gives us a full seven days to prepare our homes and our hearts. Saint Francis de Sales tells us that “God will lead us to perfection one step at a time.” During these final days of Advent, we are aware of how much we still must do to welcome Christ more completely into our lives. We are acutely aware of our struggles, our stresses and our lack of perfection. Let us follow the advice of Saint Francis and take things one day at a time, one step at a time.
Christmas comes, ready or not. The celebration of the birth of Jesus comes, no matter the season or state of our hearts, even when we are not always ready to receive him. The Christmas song “O Little Town of Bethlehem” reminds us that, “No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.” Christmas comes amid the darkness, the grief and the sins of this life. Christ is born for all of us. Christ is reborn in all of us. May our preparations, no matter how much or how little, lead us to open our hearts and let the Lord enter into our lives.
Reverend Jack Kolodziej, OSFS
Provincial
Wilmington-Philadelphia Providence
