For some Christians, Advent is simply an aid to memory. It is certainly that. It is also much more. For Advent is a season not only of remembering what happened long ago in order to prepare ourselves for the liturgical celebration of Christ’s Nativity, of preparing ourselves to receive Him in our hearts in the sacraments and in prayer, and of preparing ourselves to receive him when He comes again to judge the living and the dead. Advent is about past, present, and future.
We do tend to focus on the first one. For it is not only necessary but delightful to remember how it was that God fulfilled His promises. How wonderful to think back on the prophecies from Isaiah and the other prophets of a light in darkness, a wonderful counselor, a prince of peace!
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