Advent Day 10: All Things New

Link to free Advent: Love’s Pure Light PDF by Dwell App: ⁣ https://tinyurl.com/yysjvwjm⁣ ⁣ 𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝟮𝟳 𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗮𝗵 𝟰:𝟮-𝟲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟭:𝟭-𝟭𝟴⁣ ⁣ 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥.⁣ –St. Gregory of Nazianzus⁣ ⁣ Repentance is a reminder that God loves to heal that which is sick and restore all that is disfigured. If there is no possibility for renewal, then why bother with repentance in the first place? To repent is not only to acknowledge one’s sin and shortcomings, but it is to look ahead with hope and the unshakable belief that God will not leave us as we are but will make us by grace what Jesus is by nature.⁣ ⁣ In fact, this is one of the most helpful ways to reflect upon the Incarnation during this Advent season. Jesus did not enter our world because he was lonely, neither was he forced to do so by some divine decree. Love has been and always will be the only lens through which the birth of Christ can be properly understood. To truly love is to desire the good of the other. When God sees humanity suffering and lost in sin, he looks upon us with compassion, longing to free us from “the sin that clings so closely” (Heb. 12:1).⁣ ⁣ Through our love of self and pursuit of comfort, we walk in alienation from God and one another. We are, like the Israelites of old, covered in filth and our hands are stained with blood (Is. 4:4). Harsh as this may sound, this realization is the beginning of true repentance. Only when we see our sickness for what it is can we begin to appreciate the healing medicine offered to us by our loving Lord.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸⁣ Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.⁣ ⁣ 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲⁣ As today’s reflection reminds us, we must learn to be free from love of self. Choose today to fast from self-interest. It has been said that true humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking about yourself less. Put this into practice by going the entire day without looking at yourself in a mirror!