'Tis the season...of Advent. It's a season of preparation for Christmas, as Lent is a season of preparation for Easter. Like Lent, it's a penitential season, and the liturgical color is purple. The advent wreath candles are purple, except for the third one, which is rose. Both Lent and Advent have a rose-colored Sunday, a break in the mournful mood.
For Advent, the third Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, and, in Lent, the fourth Sunday is Laetare Sunday. Gaudete and Laetare are both translated as Rejoice. Gaudete comes from St. Paul's exhortation, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!" Laetere comes from the prophet Isaiah's instruction, "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her."
But I am still in the first week of Advent, a purple (or violet) week. I went to mass and saw the Advent candle lit there, and I also have, for many years, had an Advent wreath at home. In this picture of my Advent wreath, two of the purple candles look pink, while the rose candle (across from the lit candle) looks purple or gray.
In real life, the colors were correct. The center, Christ, candle is white. It is lit on Christmas or Christmas Eve.
I've heard of Catholic Churches having a midnight mass, so that it starts just as Christmas Day starts. I don't know if St. Joseph, my parish church, does that. Last year at Christmas I was mostly missing church because my depression and anxiety made it hard for me to go anywhere. I still have some level of that issue, just not as severe.
On this first Sunday, the Scripture readings were about the coming of Christ in glory—the Second Coming. His first coming was in humility, with his glory veiled. At his second coming, his glory will be revealed. That's what the word apocalypse means—revelation. And the word advent means coming.
During Advent, we prepare for both comings of Christ. The readings this Sunday focused on the need to be alert for the Second Coming. No one knows the hour or the day* when Christ will return, so we just have to always be ready. It could happen at any moment, any day now. We need to keep that in mind.
I can't honestly say I feel prepared, if being prepared means achieving a high degree of sanctification. When you are expecting guests, you prepare by cleaning your house. When I am expecting guests, I become anxious and stressed out and accomplish nothing. But I ask some loving members of my family for help, and they come over and clean. In terms of preparing for Christ's coming, I am as effective as I am in preparing for guests. Fortunately, I can ask for help there, too, and that's what I'll have to rely on.
That's why one of my dearest Bible verses is, "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." This little light of mine is so very little—a smoldering, dimly burning wick, but he won't snuff it out.
*During the 1990s I talked with a young woman who listened to and believed a radio evangelist names Harold Camping, who was predicting when Christ would return. I started to quote this verse to her, and she interrupted me, "I know, I know. No one knows the day or the hour, but he knows the month and the year." As it turned out, he didn't.
