Bishop Duca's Advent Message

On that day, A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.  Isaiah: 11: 1-2
 
The liturgical season of Advent begins this Sunday when we are invited to prayerfully reflect on what it means to wait. This is a wonderful season where we are invited to reflect on the how Israel waited for 42 generations for the Messiah.  We will pray that the Lord will come to us in our need as we wait for an answer to our prayer, and we will be reminded to prepare ourselves spiritually as we wait for Jesus to return to this world for its final fulfillment or to call us to himself in our own death. Yet, as profound and rich as these spiritual themes are, I think Advent, a season full of grace and hope, is maybe most difficult for us to truly celebrate.  
 
We will say that we are just too busy preparing for Christmas that we don’t have time to stop and reflect on the deeper meaning of Advent. It is true we are getting things done and preparing for the joyful celebration of Christmas is a remedy for the difficulties of life.  
But there often remains, under the surface of our life's anxiety, troubles, or concern for those things that are unsettled and remain unfinished or unresolved. Those parts of our life where we are waiting for an answer, for the strength to change or for a new hope as our hope grows dim.  These concerns cause us to cry out; God where are You! We need your help!   Here is the heart of Advent for our waiting is not like waiting for a bus but rather the waiting of an active heart crying out to God.  This waiting of all the people of God summed up in the simple prayer, COME LORD JESUS!   This is the prayer that God has heard from the beginning of time and has and will answer by the gift of His only Son.  This simple prayer sums up the waiting of Israel, the waiting for answers to our prayers and the hope of future fulfillment of all things when Christ comes again.
 
This has been a tough year for many people, and it seems at times that our world is falling apart. The problems are so big, we are so busy and impatient, we may wonder if there is any room for our Savior in this world today. But Advent is precisely the time in prayer to recover the Hope that does not disappoint.  
 
The prophesy of Isaiah presents the hopeful image that at a time when it seemed the house of Jesse, the lineage from which would come the Messiah, was dying, barren and without hope, that from the seeming dead Stump of Jesse would come a new and unexpected sprout of life.  The tree of Jesse reminds me that we are always living both sides of this mystery of salvation, that is, we feel lost and dying in one part of our life, and in another we see and find hope.  We are waiting and completing, praying and having our prayers answered and doubting and rediscovering belief often at the same time.
 
Some years ago, Pope Benedict XIV in his Christmas homily remarked, “In some way mankind is awaiting God, waiting for Him to draw near.  But when the moment comes there is no room for Him.  Man is so preoccupied with himself, he has such urgent need of all the space and time for his own things, that nothing remains for others-for his neighbor, for the poor, for God.”  At times the world seems like a dead stump and as hard as we look there is no sprout, no hope.  Yet Pope Benedict reminds us, “… God does not allow himself to be shut out.  He finds a space, even if it means entering through a stable…”  Our waiting of Advent tells us to HOPE IN THE LORD, to not give up and to live in the knowledge that God will not abandon us.  
 
This is my heart and maybe in some way the heart of all Catholics in this age.  So much causes us concern.  Yet, I think this is why I enjoy and love the seasons of Advent.  The tree of Jesse that appears dead, gives life.  The ancient prophesies for which people of faith waited centuries, are fulfilled.  Where it seemed, all was lost a Savior is born and the love of God is not held back.  So, while I do see the challenges and concerns before us, my heart is already seeing answers to my prayers in wonderful, surprising ways.  In the end I rejoice in the goodness and faithfulness of God.  And for those concerns still on my heart, I pray…I pray (believing) that in the very next moment God will answer my prayer; Come Lord Jesus!

Bishop Michael Duca