Advent: A Season of Hope & Compassion
Advent means waiting or coming and the liturgical colour for Advent is violet, a royal purple that symbolises the Kingdom of God. Advent then is a period of waiting, of spiritual anticipation, preparation and longing for the coming of Christ and the Kingdom of God. In this sense, Advent is a season of hope, faith, joy and peace, reflected in the lighting of the three purple and one pink candle in the Advent Wreath. These candles are lit on each of the four Sundays of Advent commencing this year on 28 November.
With Advent in 2021 occurring during a time of a continuing pandemic, Pope Francis recently reminded us of the need for this season to be a time of hope and compassion. He said of Advent, “its lights will be dimmed by the consequences of the pandemic, which still weighs heavily on our time. All the more reason why we are called to question ourselves and not to lose hope. The feast of the birth of Christ is not out of tune with the trial we are going through because it is the quintessential feast of compassion, the feast of tenderness. Its beauty is humble and full of human warmth. The beauty of Christmas shines through in the sharing of small gestures of genuine love. It is not alienating, it is not superficial, it is not evasive, it expands the heart, opening it up to gratuitousness, to the giving of self.”
Despite what we and the rest of the world are experiencing this year, may Advent be a time for us to reflect on a better time to come and what we can do as individuals to give of ourselves and share small gestures of love.
Louise East - Religious Studies Coordinator