Advent in Austria was refreshing. I was reminded—in public—that Advent still exists, for example, by the lady on the train who had an Advent wreath sticking out of her shopping bag. A very common December activity is going to the various “Adventmarkts” in one’s region. There is even a website where you can “find one near you”! They have Christmas trees and Nativity scenes, to remind us of the coming celebration, along with all sorts of handcrafted gifts and decorations, roasted chestnuts, scrumptious treats, and my favorite—the glühwein (mulled wine). One senses an air of anticipation—and at one Adventmarkt I was treated to the largest Advent wreath I’d ever seen! I tried finding information online in English about the Adventmarkts and was dismayed to realize that the word had been translated to “Christmas markets,” presumably because English-speaking tourists have forgotten that there is such a thing as Advent.
The question is—have we forgotten there is such a thing as Advent? If so, it wouldn’t be a great surprise, considering that American stores are now trying to convince us to start buying Christmas gifts in July, (or at least to skip the last hours of Thanksgiving with family and friends to raid the department stores. Don’t even get me started...). And since our culture doesn’t observe the real Christmas season (which is actually from Christmas until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January), or at least commemorate the 12 Days of Christmas until January 6 (Feast of the Epiphany), almost all of the Christmas parties happen before Christmas instead of afterward. It can be difficult to observe the spirit of Advent in the midst of it all.
So do we end up losing sight of the meaning of Advent, of the value of waiting in joyful anticipation for the coming of the Lover of mankind? Byzantine Catholics start the Nativity Fast on November 15, 40 days before Christmas (like the 40 days of Lent before Easter). So as a Byzantine I’ve had a head start in thinking about my preparation for Christ’s birth. As much as I fight against “skipping Advent” in our culture, I realized that I’ve many times wished to skip the “Advent” of being single. Maybe because it has lasted much longer than 40 days...
The analogy of Christmas with marriage is actually quite appropriate. One of the prayers in the Roman Rite breviary reads, “When you took on flesh, Lord Jesus, you made a marriage of mankind with God.” (Monday, Evening Prayer, Week II). The Incarnation has been viewed for centuries as a marriage of divinity and humanity, which took place in the womb of Our Lady. She is referred to in Byzantine prayers as “the bridal chamber of the Heavenly Bridegroom.” Our waiting now is not only to remember the Birth of Christ, but to look forward to His Second Coming. St. John Paul II reminded us:
"For this reason, Advent is synonymous with hope: ...[a] concrete and certain trust in the return of him who has already visited us, of the 'Spouse' who with his blood has sealed with humanity a pact that is an eternal covenant. It is a hope that stimulates vigilance, the characteristic virtue of this special liturgical season [-] vigilance in prayer, fostered by a loving expectation..." (Angelus address from the First Sunday of Advent, Dec. 2, 2001).
So can viewing our “Advent of being single” as a time of hope help us in those difficult moments of frustration (at least those of us who have those moments...)? And if so, what does this practically mean?
For one thing, as we just saw, it means prayer, which Pope Benedict reaffirms beautifully in his encyclical Spe Salvi (On Christian Hope), issued right before Advent in 2007:
"Saint Augustine, in a homily on the First Letter of John, describes very beautifully the intimate relationship between prayer and hope. He defines prayer as an exercise of desire. Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched. 'By delaying [his gift], God strengthens our desire; through desire he enlarges our soul and by expanding it he increases its capacity [for receiving him]'... Even if Augustine speaks directly only of our capacity for God, it is nevertheless clear that through this effort... not only are we made free for God, but we also become open to others... When we pray properly we undergo a process of inner purification which opens us up to God and thus to our fellow human beings as well." (Spe Salvi 33)
As Pope Benedict says, it’s through a real encounter with God that we receive hope—and this hope of redemption helps us to face the present moment, even if it’s difficult. (cf. Spe Salvi 1, 3, 27, 30) “Man's great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God—God who has loved us and who continues to love us 'to the end'..." (SS 27) He challenges us by saying, “The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life... So now we must ask explicitly: is the Christian faith also for us today a life-changing and life-sustaining hope?” (SS 2, 10, emphasis added)
Why wait? Let’s take up this challenge and make this Advent a time of anticipating Our Lord’s birth in joyful prayer and hope, through which our hearts may be purified and expanded for a greater love in all relationships, both present and future!
