Introduction
The season of Advent in the Christian calendar anticipates the "coming of Christ" from three different perspectives: the physical nativity in Bethlehem, the reception of Christ in the heart of the believer, and the eschatological Second Coming.
According to Alexander, J. Neil (2013). the period of preparation for Christmas that is now called Advent began, though it was certainly in existence from about 480; the novelty introduced by the Council of Tours of 567 was to order monks to fast every day in the month of December until Christmas. Advent is seen as a time of penitence and a period of fasting, known also as St Martin's Lent or the Nativity Fast.( Bingham,J.,1726).
According to Saint Gregory of Tours the celebration of Advent began in the fifth century when the Bishop Perpetuus directed that starting with the St. Martin's Day on 11 November until Christmas, one fasts three times per week; this is why Advent was sometimes also named "Lent of St. Martin". This practice remained limited to the diocese of Tours until the sixth century( Gregory, bishop of Tours , 1836)
When Pope Urban V ascended the papal seat in 1362, he imposed abstinence on the papal court but there was no mention of fasting. It was then customary in Rome to observe five weeks of Advent before Christmas.
The liturgy of Advent remained unchanged until the Second Vatican Council introduced minor changes, differentiating the spirit of Lent from that of Advent, emphasising Advent as a season of hope for Christ's coming, now as a promise of his Second Coming. (Origines et raison de la liturgie catholique2012).
Advent is a "continuous call to hope," says Pope Francis. It seems, then, that a key aim of this pre-Christmas season is to focus attention on hope's immense importance for everyone.
But why? Is hope a problem? Sure, it can be. Human hopes frequently get dashed, driven underground. When we set our aims and targets sometimes we don't reach or get to our desired point we feel bad and sometimes thinks that our hope in making progress or been successful can't be achieved. This season of advent tells us to keep our hopes high and as well work hard. How are we preparing to welcome our lord Jesus Christ, what changes have we made and getting ourselves ready hoping that when he comes tomorrow we will enter into the kingdom with Him.
Prayer brings us in touch with God and others and is the way we can interact and relate with our God. Prayer is giving our attention to God in a two-way spiritual relationship where we talk to God and also listen to Him. Prayer is like a child’s conversation with their father. It is natural for a child to ask his father for the things they need, or to ask for advice or guidance. Basically, there are four types of prayer
Prayer of Blessing and Adoration (praising God)
Prayer of Petition (asking for what we need, including forgiveness)
Prayer of Intercession (asking for what others need)
Prayer of Thanksgiving (for what God has given and done)
Whatever type of prayer we involve ourselves we should always pray in a quite environment in other to focus more and interact with our God.
God, our loving Heavenly Father, wants us to communicate with Him through prayer. He always listens to us when we pray. Daily prayer can bless you, your family, and those you pray for. It can also invite more peace into your life, help you learn more about God's plan for you, and more. In this period of advert prayers can help us to be more united with God and always doing His wishes and not to be carried away by the feastive period of advent.
Praying in this season of advent will help you develop a good relationship with God and draw you more closer to him.
Prayer will help you gain understanding of God's loving nature because God is love and you will feel this love when you speak to him everyday, especially during this advent.
Surely praying during this advent will provide answers to our problems as we are encouraged to keep our hopes high and as well awaits the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As this season of advent is filled with festivals and occasions, prayer will help us to avoid temptation and do the will of God. And also alin our will to the will of God. And don't forget that prayer will help you this period to invite the Holy spirit who is love and the greatest gift in your life and help you to live a Christ like life.
Dear brother and sisters, the advent is here and it's time for us to take a relook on our lives and we should not be carried away by the enjoyments of the season but keep our hopes high for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Always say this prayer
Lord, send down Your Spirit to guide me during Advent this year. May the Holy Spirit help me journey closer to You and lift me up when I feel down and led me when I feel lost. I may stumble at times, but I know my ultimate journey is to draw closer to You and build Your kingdom here on earth–a kingdom that Jesus’s birth, life and death helped secure. Amen.
Thank you all for your time and attention, I remain Okwara Casmir Ugochukwu.
REFERENCES
Alexander, J. Neil (2013). "Advent". In Bradshaw, Paul F. (ed.). New SCM Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship. Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-33404932-6
Bingham, Joseph (1726). The Antiquities of the Christian Church. Robert Knaplock. p. 357. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
St. Gregory, bishop of Tours (1836). Histoire ecclésiastique des Francs, revue et collationnée [Ecclesiastical history of the French, reviewed and collated] (in French). Transl
ated by Guadet, J.; Taranne.
No comments:
Post a Comment