Reason For This Season

So, what will your Advent be like this year?

His Excellency, the Most Reverend John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, offers his thoughts as the season gets under way. His pastoral letter to the faithful of the diocese, "Waiting In Joyful Hope!", provides a reflection on how we should prepare for the next four weeks. (Link is PDF formatted letter.)

His opening paragraphs set the tone:

Few would disagree that we live in a busy and rushed society. We rush from one thing to the next; in the end, many of us are restless and tired, yearning for stability and peace in our community and family. You may have noticed that in our hurried society many stores have already decorated for Christmas, radio stations are sneaking in a Christmas song here and there, and even some of our own parishes have begun preparing for Christmas parties for early December. In the midst of all this hurry, the Church teaches us to slow down, to be patient, and to wait.

What is the rush? Are we really so eager to get to all the decorations up, celebrate the event, and quickly dismantle all the decorations so we can move on to the next event? If we truly believe the Church is the sacrament of Christ in the world (Editor's Note--Reference is made here to Lumen Gentium, sections 1, 9, and 48), then we must authentically celebrate the story of salvation as it unfolds in the liturgical year so that we can witness God's profound love and mercy to the world....

While Advent comes once a year, Christ continues His advent into the world.

We prepare to meet Him again and always.