Preparing for the Birth of Christ

Advent is finally here, and we begin our yearly task of reflecting on the past year and more importantly preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ on Christmas. For most of us, this will probably begin with a sense of sadness as we reflect on everything resulting from the coronavirus including the shutdowns, and the mandates, and finally on how others seem to always have a different opinion on this so-called political issue. I completely understand the temptation to spend more time stressing yet again on the misfortunes of 2020 instead of preparing our souls during Advent but as Christians, we are called to be in the world but not of the world. We are made for Heaven, not for politics, and should therefore spend more time preparing ourselves for Christ than complaining of the misfortunes of the past year. So how then can we do this when it seems that everywhere we turn something new is happening with our world.

Firstly, as always, we must give everything to God. If there is only one thing that we
should have learned this year, it is that we are not in control. We must let God be our true king and master because the fact is, many of those who are supposed to lead us will disappoint us in our fallen world. Therefore, let this time of uncertainty, fear, and frustration be a time of prayer. Give all these struggles to our true King who only judges with righteousness and justice and wants nothing more than our acceptance of His divine and intimate love. Have true faith that He is in control and that He knows what is best. Again, this is not easy, but the beauty of prayer is
that we do nothing, we simply wait before our loving savior and lovingly trust in His mercy. He will provide the rest. Secondly, offer sacrifices to God for everything in your life. During this time, I and two of my closest friends are completing an exodus 90 in preparation for the great feast of Christmas. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is a 90-day period where you give up things that you would love to hold onto such as secular music, warm showers, or
snacking. We also take on things that we typically do not run to such as daily holy hours and weekly fraternity meetings in the hopes of becoming great men who serve God, not themselves. I tell you this not as a testament to anything that I or my friends have done, but as a testament to God who has worked great things through this exercise.

When we began this exodus, we were all both excited and intimidated by what was to come. However, as the disciplines became more difficult and as time continued to drag on, we began to see how difficult this was going to be and more importantly that we would not be able to do it on our own. Thankfully, we had each other to talk to and to struggle with, but more importantly, I believe we all realized that we need complete and utter dependence on God. Through this time, I have found that on the days when I try to brute force the disciplines, relying solely on my stubbornness and determination, I always failed in some form or another. I would
find myself complaining about the disciplines or making excuses on why I did this or did not do that. However, when I was most struggling and I turned to God, I found time and time again that my strength came from God alone. It was in these moments that the disciplines that I most detested such as a cold shower on a cold day in Fargo could bring me joy. I found that if I turned to God in prayer, He could use those minute sufferings for some good. I may never even see this good, but that does not matter because I am not the one doing the work; God is doing the work. This I think is the true meaning of Advent and all preparation for a Christian.

True preparation for Christmas as a Christian is not some technique or discipline. It is not Exodus 90, it is not setting up a Christmas tree or an Advent wreath, it is simply allowing yourself to be held by God just as Mary held her beloved son Jesus 2000 years ago. This is the most beautiful image to meditate on as we strive to give God control in our lives. Think of how God chose to give us His Son as a tiny, vulnerable, and innocent baby who relied on human parents for absolutely everything. Mary and Joseph held this child, consoled Him when He was crying, and softly kissed His forehead as He drifted slowly off to sleep. God calls us His children and He wants nothing more than to do this to every one of us. All we need to do is let Him! Think of the immense joy that we may feel when we are finally able to, not by our own merits, but by the grace and goodwill of God, submit ourselves completely to His love and mercy. It is at this moment that we will glimpse heaven. At this moment we can experience the love of God on a personal level.

So, as we prepare for the ending of this year and more importantly for the coming of Christ let us prepare our hearts for that sweet baby. Let us pray to our wonderful and holy mother Mary who most profoundly prepared herself for 9 months for the coming of the savior of the world. Let us have Christ enter our hearts like never before so that when people meet us, they are no longer meeting a person but are meeting the very love of God.