Advent is for Mercy

[ 4 ] December 4, 2012 AD |

The Church, our Mother, knows that we need two seasons of discipline.

Lent is for justice. Lent is when the hands of the Divine shake us from our sinful stupor. Lent is for chastisement – a face-to-face encounter with the cost of Love. We hear the Lord’s reproach on Good Friday and feel the full weight of our guilt:

My people, What have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!
I led you out of Egypt; but you led your Savior to the Cross.
For forty years I led you safely through the desert,
I fed you with manna from heaven,
and brought you to the land of plenty; But you led your Savior to the Cross.
O, My people! What have I done to you that you should testify against me?

Lent is a shock to the system – a call for sinners to wake up and repent.

Advent is for mercy. Advent is for the worn and the weary; those so wounded by sin, so discouraged by the pain of life, that they can barely lift up their heads to see the dawn of a new day. In Advent, we beg Christ to “help us to hope” in His Promise because hope seems so far beyond our grasp. The world lies in darkness and the shadow of death until the dawn from on high – a tiny infant born into poverty – reveals the love of God.

The discipline of Advent is gentle. Christ wipes the tears from our eyes, binds up our wounds and calls us to rejoice. Advent is for trading the weight of our sorrows for the joy of the Savior.

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Category: Life, Religion, Uncategorized

About the Author ()

Elizabeth Hoxie is a recent grad of St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA where she studied biology and Catholic theology. She married the love of her life in October 2010 and she and her husband, Nathan, welcomed their first son, Peter, in August. Elizabeth is taking a leave of absence from medical school to focus on being a full-time mommy. The Hoxie family is about to embark on an adventure in military life where Nathan will serve in the United States Air Force.
  • http://identifiedcatholic.blogspot.com Thomas

    This is beautiful, and it comes to the point so succinctly. It’s very well written. I feel like I understand Advent a bit better just for having read this.

  • Sarah B.

    This is so beautiful. As I sit here, my heart heavy with my inability to thus far conceive a second child, this reflection reminded me of what God wants for me (and all of us) and how Advent is such a time of healing. Thank you.

    • Elizabeth

      Sarah,
      Praying that Advent will be a season of healing and joy for you.

  • http://southerncatholicgirl.tumblr.com Maggie L

    Thank you. This is what I needed this morning.

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