A time for patient anticipation

My parish recently concluded a nine-month project that started this past January to recognize the urgency in praying for unborn children who may be in threat of being aborted. Sponsors were sought who named an “adopted” child and prayed for that child over the nine months. All this while pictures of the status of the growing child in the womb were displayed alongside the long list of those named children.

In October, we had a baby shower where parishioners could donate certain desperately-needed types and sizes of clothing. The response was overwhelming. Not only were clothes and diapers given, but also cribs, strollers, bassinets, car seats, toys, etc. You get the picture. There was anticipation in the air for those mothers who opted to keep their child and the items were donated to the various agencies in helping to support those mothers.

This week we begin a new liturgical year with the season of Advent. As you enter church this Sunday, you may notice less décor and the new seasonal color of violet. While we are visually made aware of this change, we also hear a different tone in the readings. The Gospel is especially relevant: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” Boy doesn’t that sound just like that new baby. Get ready Mom and Dad, I will come on my time, not yours! Have you looked around lately at all the new babies in your parish? Or how about all those expectant parents, do they look ready or are they still seeking those last-minute necessities?

That is what the season of Advent is about, quiet expectation and excited anticipation. It is the knowledge that the time is near for re-birth, but in the realization of a new beginning. The Advent wreath reinforces that aura of expectation as we light first one candle, then another and another on each of the four Sundays. The countdown is right before our eyes as we prepare ourselves for the birth and celebration of Christmas. In a way it could almost be called sacramental. We prepare, we go through the ritual actions and then comes the sacrament itself with the anointing, the water, the absolution, the body and blood, the vows. It is complete, but the anticipation becomes heightened each step along the way until its completion.

This year as we are busied about with the many preparations for Christmas, let us not lose the excitement that comes from patient anticipation, from quiet reflection, from gratefulness as we allow ourselves to be in the moment of God’s presence in our lives. Just like the mother of that unborn child, we quietly pray about what is to come.

Wettstein is a volunteer choir director and former director of music and liturgy at Good Shepherd Parish, Chilton.

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