O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!- Isaiah 2:5
Advent is a beautiful time of silence, patience, and prayer. We prepare for Christ, the Light (John 8:12), to come to us in the darkness. We prepare for the fullness of life–zoe in Greek–that Jesus, the Life (John 14:6) offers us: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). We light the Advent candles each of the four Sundays before Christmas as we pray for the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christ to penetrate our hearts so we can bring them to others. Meditating on, praying for, and practicing these virtues will prepare our hearts to receive Jesus’s abundant life, zoe.
Advent is primarily a season of hope–spes in Latin. The Catechism teaches that “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1817). Hope is more than a wish; it’s connected to a firm faith that Christ will deliver us to eternal life. It’s imbued with the belief that God will provide His abundant life for us here and now. It’s grounded in a deep trust that God will keep His promises, and that He desires what’s best for us.
Hope, spes, is connected to the virtues that we will pray for in the next two weeks, joy and peace: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). This Advent, may we have an abundance of hope and trust in God’s promises. My grandmother used to say “It’s always darkest before the brightest.” Let us hope while we wait in silence for the Lord in the darkness of Advent. Let us prepare to “walk in the light of the Lord!” (Isaiah 2:5).
Come, Lord Jesus! Come and bring me Your hope. Prepare my heart for Your abundant life.