Lectionary Readings: Year A, Fourth Sunday of Advent Can you imagine the scandal that could have happened in a small town, if Joseph had made a public spectacle about this little issue with Mary? That she was pregnant before their wedding day, and that he, Joseph, was not the father? Everyone in that town would…
Advent has been called a mini-Lent, because it is also a season of penitence. The difference between Lent and Advent is that during Lent, we prepare for Christ’s crucifixion (and then resurrection), while in Advent, we prepare our hearts for Christ’s birth, and in another sense, for Christ’s Second Coming. Accordingly, Advent, while still a penitential season of preparation, is more joyful than Lent because of the anticipation of something new, something greater than ourselves, something that sparks hope for a better future for all God’s children – through our work, and our gifts that allow us to care for all, guided by the love that God has showed us.
“God is the God of the living, and not of the dead.”
St. Iranaeus said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and the life of humanity consists in beholding God.”