I have just returned from the Thanksgiving holiday, and even though it was a time of good visiting with my parents, it will also go down in history as the Thanksgiving of disappointment.

There was the disappointment of those who were unable to come to the celebration. I had two nieces and their families who decided not to come because of the risk. Even for those of us who were there, it was strangely different. There were not the warm hugs and kisses being exchanged. We ate outside. We usually all sit at one long table in the family room so we can all be together for the meal. This time we were scattered about in small family groups. We usually stand in a big circle holding hands for prayer. As strange as it was to stand apart, I could still feel a sense of God’s presence with us. And we still have so much for which to be thankful.

Now I am back in Missouri and Advent has begun. The Masses for the First Sunday of Advent were sparsely attended. I am sure everyone is just being cautious.  But as we sang the Advent songs, People, Look East and O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, I could hear the longing for Jesus. Even in the subdued singing, there was a beauty in the cry from our hearts, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Today I am putting Christmas decorations out, and it isn’t even December as I write this! I need, and it seems others do also, the hope that Christmas brings. It is a longing for Jesus to be with us. Even if it doesn’t change things, it is a comfort to know that He is near.

Advent is a time of prayer, a time to recognize that we are in need of the Savior. To recognize that we have become complacent and lazy in our spiritual quest. The focus has drifted away from the things of God, and we focus on other things: pleasure, success, entertainment, on all the things that the world has to offer.

Advent is the time to be aware that God is calling out to us. Just as he called out to Mary to bring Christ into the world, He called out to Joseph to take care of and provide for the Son of God. He called the shepherds to witness the newborn Savior. He called the wise men to bow down in worship to the infant King. And he calls us to stand in awe before the great Love which brought all this about.

As we ponder the upcoming birth of Jesus during this Advent season, we know that Christmas this year will not be the same. We still will be unable to gather and celebrate as we usually do. But the birth of our salvation that we celebrate at Christmas is always the same. The mystery of the Incarnation is still at the center of Christmas. And the cry of God’s people  continues to ring out down the ages. . .

Come, Lord Jesus!
Msgr. Cox
Adoration of the Shepherds, Murillo (1650)