Advent is a Season of Journeys

As we go into this Jubilee Year we are called to be Pilgrims of Hope. Advent and Christmas are seasons of journeys and pilgrimages. It is also a season of contrasts, between light and dark, have's and have-not's.

With our preparations for this Christmas and the new coming of Christ, we can use the journeys of the past to help us in our journeys going forward. Part of the nativity is the trip Joseph makes with his pregnant wife, Mary from Judea to

Bethlehem, which is the seat of the House of the Former King David for the census required by the Roman Cesar. When they get to their destination, she is ready to give birth, but because of the census, there is no place for them to stay. There is only a barn for shelter, and hay to cushion the ground where she must deliver her new baby. Then, we are told of the trip the shepherds make coming in from grazing their sheep. After that, the nativity story tells of the 3 Magi who travel from the East to find the new king they divined from reading the stars. It also mentions that after they venerate the baby Jesus, they travel back to their homeland via a different route to avoid the King who commissioned their journey.

So, why all these mentions about travel? What about a journey is so important?

To make a voyage generally requires a bit of preparation and planning. There is often creating a basic route, transportation, as well as packing. Even if the trip is an impromptu one, a person still has some idea of what all they need to be able to reach their destination. Advent is the season of preparation and planning, so we can take the liturgical trek through the year with Jesus, beginning with Advent and then Christmas. Besides, aren't we all on a journey? Our lives themselves can be seen as one. Since we aren't truly meant for this plane and are merely travelling through to our Heavenly home.

The calling or 'mission' each one of us is given by God can also be viewed as a journey. Though we are given the tools and gifts needed to respond to God's call, they take practice and honing before we truly begin to understand them and are mature enough to be able to minister for God in a real way. Even Jesus had to make this particular passage. He had to learn and grow up before he could begin his public ministry of salvation.

This coming year, we're also called to become 'Pilgrims of Hope'. Being a pilgrim also implies that one is on a holy journey. So, this is a holy expedition of hope. Like the Magi who brought presents, as we make our way through the year we will also be bringing with us the offering of hope to others through Jesus. We are preparing for this pilgrimage now. With prayer, confession, and all the preparatory mass readings, we are making the way ready for souls to meet Jesus. This way we can be receptive to Him enough to bring the light of hope of the Good News that Jesus gives us in the Gospels.

He wants us each to be His candle lights in the darkness. He wants us to shine for Him as brightly as we can to help others find their way through the long night. Jesus is the light, the dawn we are all seeking. But maybe, just maybe, we can be the stars on a moonless night travelling through the sky guiding those who seek Him, as we await the coming dawn of His new day.