The document discusses the themes of Advent and Christmas, including hope, peace, and preparation. It provides historical context for the celebration of Christ's birth and the Advent season as a time to remember Christ's first coming as an infant, live in the present with his spiritual presence, and prepare for his second coming. Key figures mentioned are Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the prophets Isaiah, Micah and others who foretold Christ's coming. Traditions like the Advent wreath and meanings behind its elements are explained. Pope Benedict XVI's perspectives on Advent as a time of prayer, conversion and making Christ's presence known in the world are presented.
3. The theme of hope,
of the second coming
of Christ,
of the feast of Christ the King,
continues in the period of
Advent,
when we conmemorate
his first coming, being born
of the Virgin Mary
in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
In the early church,
Christa’s birth was celebrated,
and a time of preparation
for this feast was observed.
4.
5. The expectation for the celebration of the birth of Christ
in history, helped the faithful to hope for
his second coming, at the end of time.
.
.
In our liturgical period of Aedvent,
the readings of the first 3 weeks refer to this second coing.
The last week of preparation refers more to his first coming, in Bethlehem
7. - Remember the past:
Celebrate and contemplate the birth
of Jesus in Bethlehem. This was his
coming in the flesh, so humble and poor.
He came as one of us,
a man among men,
8. - Live the present -
To live the presence of Christa in our daily life, in us, and through us in the world,
being always vigilante, walking the ways of the Lord, in justice and love.
10. Then the Lord will come as Judge of all nations
and reward with Heaven those who believed in Him,
and have lived as faithful sons and brothers
11. We await his glorious coming when he will bring us
salvation and eternal life without suffering.
12. The coming of the Lord in Bethlehem and his final coming should be
seen as one, not as two distinct comings, although in different stages .
There is a double perspective, existencial and cultual or liturgical
Benedict XVI
14. PREPARATION
IN THE
OLD TESTAMENT
- ISAIAH –
“Therefore the Lord
himself will give you
a sign.
Look, the young woman
is with child
and shall bear a son,
and shall name him
Immanuel.”
(Isaíah 7:14 ).
15. Jeremiah
“The days are surely
coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the
promise I made to the house
of Israel and the house of
Judah. In those days and at
that time I will cause a
righteous Branch to spring
up for David; and he shall
execute justice and
righteousness in the land”
Jer 33,14 - 16
16. Micah
But you, O Bethlehem of
Ephrathah, who are one of the
little clans of Judah, from you
shall come forth for me one who
is to rule in Israel, whose origin is
from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up
until the time when she who is in
labor has brought forth; then the
rest of his kindred shall return to
the people of Israel. And he shall
stand and feed his flock in the
strength of the LORD, in the
majesty of the name of the LORD
his God. And they shall live
secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth; and he
shall be the one of peace.
(Micah 5:2 ).
17. Zacariah
Once when he was serving as priest before
God and his section was on duty, 9 he was
chosen by lot, according to the custom of
the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of
the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the
time of the incense offering, the whole
assembly of the people was praying
outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an
angel of the Lord, standing at the right
side of the altar of incense. 12 When
Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and
fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel
said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
for your prayer has been heard. Your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will
name him John. 14 You will have joy and
gladness, and many will rejoice at his
birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of
the Lord. He must never drink wine or
strong drink; even before his birth he will
be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will
turn many of the people of Israel to the
Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and
power of Elijah he will go before him, to
turn the hearts of parents to their children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous, to make ready a people prepared
for the Lord." Lk 1,8-
18. Then his father Zechariah was filled with
the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people
and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty
savior for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth
of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our
ancestors, and has remembered his holy
covenant, the oath that he swore to
our ancestor Abraham, to grant us
that we, being rescued from the hands of our
enemies, might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the
Most High; for you will go before the Lord to
prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation
to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from
on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet
into the way of peace." L 1,67
19. John the Baptist
Leads us by
the ways of Advent.
His life and mission was
from his mother’s womb
to be herald
and precursor
of the Christ.
He calls us to conversion
and to follow Christ
austerely but joyfully.
20. His voice stills rings in the desert
and in the hearts of men of good
will, calling us to conversion.
21. He was chosen to show the
people the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world..
23. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts
of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Lk 1,17-
24. His purifying and penitential
baptism in the Jordan
inaugurated the living water
which since then has the
power of salvation for men.
25. Finally he shed his
blood as supreme
testimony to the
name of Christ.
26. MARY
Since de Annunciation
Mary is the first
to await the birth of Christ.
She was introduced into
this mystery by personal
invitation of God.
She generously
responded “yes”
to the invitation to be
the mother of God,
the means by which
God became incarnate
among men and entered
into our history.
27. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God
to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin
engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, oh full
of grace! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was much perplexed by his words and
pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for
you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will
name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God
will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of
his kingdom there will be no end."
34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I
am a virgin?" 35 The angel said to her, "The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be
born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36
And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has
also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for
her who was said to be barren.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God."
38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the
Lord; let it be with me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her. - Lk 1,28
28. Mary is the
star of Advent
She lived
in her virginal womb
and in her mind
and heart,
the first and
most beautiful
of advents
during nine months,
29. She is the mother
and model of hope.
No one like her knew
how to prepare a place
for the Lord, for her son.
As she awaits his birth,
she is the image of the
Church, full of Christ,
and presents him
as light for the rest
of mankind.
31. JOSÉ DE
NAZARET
When his mother Mary had
been engaged to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found to be with child
from the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph, being a
righteous man and unwilling
to expose her to public
disgrace, planned to dismiss
her quietly. Mt 1,18
32. “But just when he had
resolved to do this, an angel
of the Lord appeared to him
in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David, do not
be afraid to take Mary as your
wife, for the child conceived in
her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you
are to name him Jesus,
for he will save his people
from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what had been spoken by the
Lord through the prophet:
Look, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and they shall
name him Emmanuel," which
means, "God is with us.”.
Lk 1,21-
33. “In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed
is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon
as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there
would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” Lc 1,39-
ELIZABETH - Mary shared this joy with her cousin,
who by the work of God, also espected a son, John the future
baptist, fore runner of Christ. She is a model of those who
recognise the work of God
34. The Magi
The three sages or wise men, were probably
astronomers and learned in the prophecies about
the future Messiah. When the sign appeared,
the star, they did not hesitate to set out on
the long journey in search of the king.
Bearing the cold and danger of the winter
highways, they arrived in Jerusalem and
Asked at the court of Herod for the child.
36. During Advent,
the advent wreath is
placed
in churches and homes
Its made of pine branches
and covered with four candles
one for each Sunday of
Advent
Each candle represents
a virtue which should be lived
that week in preparation
for Christmas
First – love
Second – peace
Third- tolerance
Fourth - faith.
The family gathers around the wreath,
reads a passage of the bible.
The wreath may be brought to the
church for blessing
37. Its origin comes from pagan tradition of lighting candles during Winter to represent
the Sun God, in order to bring back its light and colour .
The first missionaries in northern countries used this tradition to evangelise.
38. Each Sunday a candle is lit.
Sometimes a fifth white colored candle is placed
in the center and lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.
39. The circle
has no beginning nor end
This is a sgn of God’s
love which is eternal,
and of how our love
should be for him
and our neighbour.
The green
boughs
Green is the colour
of life and hope.
God wants us to long
for his grace,
the forgiveness of sins
and final glory.
40. THE FOUR CANDLES
Remind us of the
darkness caused by sin
which blinds man
and distances him
from God.
Just as the dark is lit up
with each candle, so the
closer we come to Christ
the brighter the world.
The light is a sign of the
spirit of power which
persists in the midst
of the long and cold
winter nights.
John calls Christ the
light of the world.
(John 8:12).
41. 1 The first candle is of hope
it symbolizes faith in God
who keeps his promises to
men - colour green
2 The second candle is of
preparation, reminding
Christians that they whould
preparre to receive God.
They should be vigilant and
do penance
Colour - purple
3 The third is for Joy.
It reminds us of the angels
singing over the birth
of Christ.
Colour pink
42. the fourth candle is for love
It reminds christians that God loves us
so much as to send his only son on Earth.
It is yellow or white, and represents Christ.
43. The red apples
represent the
fruits of the
garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve
brought sin
on Earth,
but received
the promise
of a future
Saviour.
45. Prayer of blessing of
the Advent wreath
Lord our God,
we praise you for your
Son, Jesus Christ:
he is Emmanuel,
the hope of the peoples,
he is the wisdom that
teaches and guides us,
he is the Savior
of every nation.
Lord God,
let your blessing
come upon us
as we light the candles
of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light
be a sign of Christ’s promise
to bring us salvation.
May he come quickly
and not delay.
We ask this through
Christ our Lord.
Amen.
.
46. The liturgy
of Advent
calls upon us
not to judge,
since when the
Lord comes
He will manifest
the secrets of
all hearts.
47. The gospels
bring us back in
spirit to the time
before the
incarnation of
the Son of God
as though it were
to occur again.
48.
49. Pope Benedict XVI on Advent
In ancient times the towns and villages would prepare for the feast
of their deity, or the official visit of the king.
50. It is a time for prayer and reflection
characterized by vigilance and hope.
It is also a time of conversion,
pardon and joy.
51. Lessons
of Advent
The austerity and
poverty of the
Christ´s birth
reminds us of the
poor in the world in
contrast to the
excessive and
superfluous
consumer spending
typical of this
festive season.
52. Advent reminds us
1 that the presence of God
in the World has begun
and He is now present even
though in an ocult manner
2 that this presence of God
is not yet complete, but is
in process of growth and
maturing.
53. His presence has begun,
and we the believers
are the ones who have to
make him present in the world.
He wants to shine forth in the
night of the world, by our faith,
hope and love
54. The candles we light
in the dark night of
winter, will be a sign
of consolation
and a warning. –
Consolation because
the light of the world
has been lit in the
dark night of
Bethlehem and has
changed the night
of human sin into
the Holy Night
of divine
pardon
55. This light will still shine out
if it is supported by
Christians who continue
the work of Christ
throughout the ages.
56. The light of Christ wants to light up
the night of the world through us.
57. When we celebrate the day
Christ is born, it should be
like today for us, because
He must be born and
borne in our hearts
58. The child Jesus is born wherever
we work inspired by His love ,
where we do more than
just exchange gifts.
59. This means that the
Christian does not
only look to what
happened in the past
but also toward
what is to come.
In the midst of so
many disasters in
the world he is sure
that the sown light
continues to grow
even though hidden
60. until that day
when it shall
triumph definitively
and all will be
subject to it,
the day Christ
returns.
Then his presence
will be complete.
