This is the last Mass of Advent that I celebrate early in the morning on this Christmas Eve. The Church throughout the land is waiting to celebrate the moment Christ was born in a dark cave with the animals,resting in their feeding trough, Himself becoming Food for our journeys. A very lowly birth indeed but one accompanied by angelic voices, heard only by the poor.
In this time of threshold, as we are about to “Passover” into Christmas and its Mystery of God becoming Flesh, we pray with zechariah, unable to speak, but now giving praise to his son to be born. His son to be called John will prepare the way of the Lord by preaching repentance and sorrow for sin. The Lord will be “the dawn from on high and shall break upon us, shining his Light in places of darkness, guiding our feet in the pathway of Peace.”
As I celebrate this last Mass of Advent, waiting for the Dawn of Christ to come to us, to be born once again. In our hearts, I pray for these people who are on one threshold or another:
- A dear friend is in hospice waiting for his new life to begin
- A wife must become the eyes of her husband losing sight
- A couple is about to give birth to a child, changing everything
- Families are selling homes, buying new homes, waiting to make the move
- So many are waiting in hospitals to hopefully bring home a loved one for Christmas
- So many will remain in hospitals, at the bedside of loved ones who must celebrate Christmas there
- Many are preparing for Christmas alone or with a few family members or friends...in Joy!!!!
- Countless people are waiting for a job to materialize, struggling daily to make life happen...
Life has so many thresholds, some in Joy, some in struggle. As Christ is born in our hearts, God carries us over these thresholds, always, always to new life. Listen for those angelic voices in your prayer... will you be able to hear them singing in your hearts?
Peace, Joy,
Fr. Frank