The Messenger Advent Booklet: Reflections on the Weekday Readings

By Donal Neary

Donal Neary SJ, editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger and well-known author, presents the first in a series of seasonal Messenger booklets.

The scripture of Advent is one of the most enriching series of readings in the Church’s year.  The Old (Hebrew) Testament presents some of the best known and favourite texts of the prophets, especially from the Isaiah tradition.  The gospel links the life and work of Jesus with the Old Testament reading. These short reflections on both readings of the daily Liturgy explore this link in a deep and relevant way with some of the big themes and words of Advent: waiting, expectation, hope, joy, forgiveness, compassion, fulfilment.  Many of the reflections present a simple hint or encouragement of how to live our Christian calling in Advent as we prepare for the birth of Christ.

In the busy-ness of the season this booklet can open the meaning of God’s love, which is the primary message of Christmas: that ‘God so loved the world as to send his only Son to save the world’. Advent encourages us to wonder and be amazed at the way God did this and continues to do so in his people today.  

The Messenger Advent Booklet opens us to find the meaning of Christmas in the secular as well as the more religious and spiritual celebrations of the feast. It is best used a day at a time, in a prayerful mood.  A prayer to start and finish the reflection is also included.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Messenger Publications
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781788124911

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Advent is the annual season of waiting. We wait for the same reason every year, and we are certain that the One we await – a person, Jesus, Son of God – will arrive on time. Yet, we find that the waiting is new each year, as Jesus is ever new. Maybe we don’t like the waiting, or maybe we enter enthusiastically into Advent, which in some countries now starts in October. Maybe we are happy to wait in patience and quiet.

Some wait actively, reminding themselves each day with prayer or reflection as to why they wait. As Pope Francis says in Let Us Dream, our waiting is with the head (thinking about Advent), the heart (feeling with the season) and with the feet (doing something for others each day).

There’s a richness in waiting. I’m impatient, but I find sometimes that when I relax into waiting, something good happens for me. Whether it’s waiting for a bus or a plane, or queueing in a shop, I notice different things about people or even new colours in the sky. I notice how I am in myself, and, like in waiting for sleep, I may make sense of the stresses of the day. Waiting in many ways is a good thing for us.

We wait also to notice where and how God is in our lives. This waiting is often compared to the watchman who waits, noticing all that is happening around. He’s on a height to see the world around him. Advent can be our hill or mountain. Each day we gather something new about God, ourselves and the world.

This book gives a few hints for prayerful reflection on each day’s readings during Advent. Readings from both the Old and New Testaments figure as we attempt to focus our mood and thoughts on the season.

The way we wait affects how we celebrate and enjoy Christmas. The way we wait may grow in us a new realisation that everything about God, and especially God’s Son, is worth our waiting. We wait for the Lord, because his day is near. Thanks be to God!

Donal Neary SJ

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