Advent begins this Sunday! For most of the world, the calendar is filled with parties and celebrations. Catholics, however, are called to set aside this time in preparation: Christmas begins on December 25 and ends on Epiphany (January 6, traditionally), but there are little bits of Christmas sprinkled into the liturgy all the way until the Feast of the Presentation on February 2.
It is counter-cultural to not put up Christmas lights–or at least not turn them on–until Christmas Eve; to wait to decorate the Christmas Tree (even if you purchase it early) on Christmas Eve; to wait until after Christmas Day to have our Christmas parties. But we Catholics can’t be afraid to be counter cultural! We need to have the courage to live our faith in every aspect of our lives, because that is how we change our culture.
The culture we live in is sick, because it has lost God and does not allow the sacred to enlighten it. It has become crass, angry, and reactionary shell of itself. By courageously living our faith in public, we can give a new direction to our culture and can renew the soul of our civilization. Perhaps this seems like a huge task, but God desires that none of his children be lost. We are the people he has called to make sure that this happens. We are the ones called to share the Good News. We are the ones called to show people how to live. We are the ones called to sacrifice for the sake of our brothers and sisters, so that they might know the love and mercy that God has for them. We are called to watch for the day of our Lord’s coming, and to prepare ourselves and those around us the best we can for that great and terrible day. St. Paul teaches us, “it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. […] Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:11-12) When we arm ourselves with Christ, we have nothing to fear as we stand fast and show this world a new way to live. A Catholic way to live.
The thought of this may be a bit scary, even terrifying for some. If that’s the case, then Advent is the perfect time to turn to the Lord and ask him to fill your heart with his love, so that your faith in his power is strengthened. When we are armored with Christ, guided by faith, and filled with his love, no power–not even Death itself–can stand in our way.