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December 2, 2024Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, may the Lord give you peace and joy.
Today we begin a new liturgical year with the time of Advent. It is a special Advent. In fact, this time leads us not only towards Christmas but also towards the beginning of the Jubilee of the Lord 2025.
Those who are older among you will surely remember the great jubilee of 2000, when Saint John Paul II introduced the Church into the third Christian millennium. It was a great holy year that reminded the entire world of God's closeness to humanity.
Every twenty-five years the Church celebrates this jubilee to remind us of the coming of the Lord into the world, the great mystery of his incarnation, so that we never forget God's love for us. In fact, God's love for us is demonstrated in having sent His Son Jesus into the world, taking upon himself our wounded humanity.
The theme of the Lord's Jubilee this year will be: pilgrims of hope. Jesus is our hope! We all need hope to face daily life and the small and big problems that we face. Humanity as a whole needs hope to overcome difficulties and conflicts. For this reason, I invite everyone to prepare well for this Jubilee Year. Pope Francis has proposed a special time of prayer to the whole Church. In fact, the time of Advent is the best time to rediscover the human and Christian meaning of prayer.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to us of his second coming at the end of history when he, the son of man, will appear with power and the glory of God will manifest itself in fullness. These words of Jesus, help us understand that the ultimate and definitive reality is not what we now see with our eyes, and touch with our hands. Everything we experience now passes away with time and will be transformed by the Lord to be able to enter into the glory of God.
In this way the time of Advent reminds us first of all of the first coming of the Lord, more than two thousand years ago: he presented himself to us in humility, becoming one like us, born of the Virgin Mary. With this he brought to fulfillment the ancient promises, as we heard in the first reading. Jesus was born as a descendant of King David. Even if he is born in poverty, he is destined to reign in our hearts and to instill divine love throughout the world.
In addition, the Advent reminds us that Jesus will come to bring the history of humanity to completion. But while waiting for his coming at the end of time he does not stop coming among us and dwelling in our hearts, in our families and in the Church. He never leaves us alone. The Lord makes himself known not as the one who is distant in an inaccessible heaven and alien to our life. The Lord makes himself known as the one who comes among us every day.
To be able to welcome him every day and in his second coming, however, we must express our desire to have him with us, we must prepare our hearts to welcome him. This is the importance of prayer! This is why Jesus tells us “Stay awake, praying at all times.” Let us not weigh down our hearts with distractions and useless worries. Let us remain united with the Lord in prayer and mutual love. Let us say every day with our hearts: come Lord Jesus, come among us, we need you, we love you.
Finally, in this mass I will bless the new Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist who will help the priests during this time. I like to see in them, faithful whose task is to bring Jesus to others. They are a bit similar to the Mother of God who carried Jesus in her womb to give him to the world. Thus, these extraordinary ministers welcome Jesus in their hands and bring him to the faithful so that all may be nourished by Christ. They are a bit of an image of Advent: in fact, to bring Jesus to others, one must first receive him. I always ask you to receive Jesus in your hands with a pure heart and prepared for this service. Give everyone an example of prayer and fraternal charity.
I wish everyone to be bearers of Jesus to the world. Jesus comes among us not to remain hidden but to bring the light and love of God to all.
May Mary Most Holy, Mother of God, help us to live this holy time of Advent intensely.
