Advent, a call to WAIT...

We have come to the end of the liturgical year and tomorrow (in fact later in the evening) we begin a new liturgical year with the season of Advent. My personal prayer theme for this year's Advent is 'Waiting'.

As early as in mid-November, there were already people getting excited that even in their facebook status tags were on the theme of Christmas. I even noticed one guy who even used a Christmas Carol on his status just after Deepavali (which was on Oct 27 this year). Many now have begun the countdown to Christmas. So what are they doing? They are all 'waiting' for Christmas!

The Catholic church is so beautiful and wise. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church did not just give us a day to celebrate Christ's birth into history instead has given us 4 weeks to prepare the great day i.e. Christmas.

The 4 weeks of Advent focuses on waiting for the Second Coming of the Lord in glory while remembering His first coming in history. In this way Advent is a preparation for Christmas. But the primary emphasis is on looking forward to the Lord's final coming at the end of time. This focus is geared to awaken the believer to a recognition of the Lord's daily advents into life now in what are often referred to as grace-filled moments.

At this time in my life, I too am waiting for God's answer and His divine intervention in the happenings of my life. "Lord, Your will be done. ...Amen".