Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
December 11, 2002
Advent: a time of preparation
By Most Rev. José H. Gomez, S.T.D.
Watch, therefore," our Lord tells us. "Wake from sleep," St. Paul echoes. It's easy for us to forget what is most fundamental in our existence, what our life here on earth is about. That is why the Church reminds us with a four-week period of preparation called Advent.
Advent is a time assigned by the Church to help us prepare ourselves for the coming of the birth of Christ. During this time of waiting, of desiring Christ to be with us, we can prepare ourselves in "holiness and devotion" as St. Peter suggests. There are many ways to make this a holy time of preparation through small devotions: reading the Gospel, praying the rosary and attending Mass during the week. Now is also the time for an especially good examination of conscience to welcome that expected guest, who is God. It is the moment to take note of the things that separate us from Him, to loosen their hold and cast them from us.
This month we celebrate two very important Marian feast days: the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. For all Catholics of America, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe should hold much meaning. The sweet words that our most holy Mother said at Tepeyac Hill seem to resound with a particular strength today for all Catholics in America: "You have already heard, my son, the littlest, my encouragement, my word; go, do whatever is on your hands."
Our most holy Mother asked St. Juan Diego, "the littlest of my children," to put the means in order to accomplish her desire: the construction of a temple in her honor. And the "Nican Mopohua," the original account in St. Juan Diego's native language, describes the Indian saint´s response in this way: "Immediately in her presence, he knelt down, and then said to her, 'My Lady, Child, I will do your venerable word.'"
Today, Our Lady of Guadalupe also calls us to build the "temple of God" amidst our daily life, not only in the private sector, but in our public lives as well. St. Juan Diego's answer to Our Lady of Guadalupe was prompt, generous, and especially courageous. Juan Diego knew he was "little," humble, unknown and without influence among the powerful. Yet, he knew had had a divine mission, and that is why he neither feared, nor doubted.
Juan Diego, as holy Father John Paul II notes, is a model of life for the world today. That means that we, too, are all called to imitate those virtues of promptness and courage in order to announce our faith and make it present in all areas of our lives, but even more so in the public arena. It is very important for the Catholic laity to make their presence felt in public life, not only in the field of politics, but also in the social, cultural and humanitarian fields.
This is a mission that each one of us, in a personal way, is being called to. To each one of us, amidst our realities, the Virgin Mary also tells, as she told Juan Diego: "Listen, the littlest of my children, be assured that my servants are not scarce, my messengers, to whom I entrusted to bring my encouragement, my word, in order to do my will; but it is very necessary that you go, personally ... so that through your intercession it will happen, my will, my desire, will be fulfilled."
Advent is a time of action: A special time set aside for us to make an effort to accomplish the plan that God has for this world — a plan of love that has to reach every corner of our reality. It doesn't matter how "little" we are in the eyes of the world. The Holy Father believes that the future of humanity in this third millennium depends on what we, men and women of faith, the ones who live in this crucial time, do. A world anxious for hope is waiting for us ... and also our Mother, to tell us, as she did to Juan Diego: "Know, my little son, I will pay you for your care and your work, and for weariness you went through because of me."
I will ask our Lady of Guadalupe to intercede for us so that she will help us to improve during this season of Advent. At her side it will be easy for us to dispose our souls in such a way that the arrival of Jesus will not find us distracted by other things that have little or no importance in the light of the coming of God.
Advent should have us asking: "Lord, make me know your ways. Lord, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth and teach me, for you are my Savior" (Responsorial Psalm 24, Cycle C).
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