Posted on

The First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent

The Savior, then, who is coming to us is the clothing which we are to put on over our spiritual nakedness. Here let us admire the goodness of our God, who, remembering that man hid himself after his sin, because he was naked, vouchsafes himself to become man’s clothing, and cover with the robe of his Divinity the misery of human nature.

Let us, therefore, be on the watch for the day and the hour when he will come to us, and take precautions against the drowsiness which comes of custom and self-indulgence. The light will soon appear; may its first rays be witness of our innocence, or at least of our repentance.

If our Savior is coming to put over our sins a covering which is to hide them forever, the least that we, on our part, can do is to retain no further affection for those sins, else it will be said of us that we refused our salvation.

The last words of this Epistle were those which caught the eye of St. Augustine, when, after a long resistance to the grace which pressed him to give himself to God, he resolved to obey the voice which said to him: Tolle lege (take and read).

They decided his conversion; he immediately resolved to abandon the worldly life he had hitherto led, and put on Christ Jesus. Let us begin this very day, and imitate this Saint. Let us long for that dear and glorious Clothing, with which the mercy of our heavenly Father is so soon to cover us.

Source: The Liturgical Year, Dom Prosper Guéranger.

Sacramentals
Print Friendly, PDF & Email