11-29-09 Advent (Rohr)

(Posted: 21:32:46 11/29/2009)

Advent Reflection (Richard Rohr)
November 29, 2009

The following reflection comes from Richard Rohr, OFM.

Happy New (Church) Year!

“Come Lord Jesus,” the Advent mantra, means that all of Christian history has to live out of a kind of deliberate emptiness, a kind of chosen non-fulfillment. Perfect fullness is always to come and we do not need to demand it now. This keeps the field of life wide open and especially open to grace and to a future created by God rather than by ourselves. This is exactly what it means to be “awake,” as the Gospel urges us!

Advent means to be aware!
     Advent means to be alive!
          Advent means to be attentive!
              Advent means to be alert!
                  Advent means to be awake!

Advent is, above all else, a call to full consciousness and a forewarning about the high price of consciousness.

Adapted from Preparing For Christmas, p. 4