"Let us cast off the deeds
of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12)
Last night I was sitting in my
hotel room on the Jersey side of the Hudson River saying my first Advent
prayers. Just across the river from our
hotel proudly stands One World Trade Center or what some call the Freedom
Tower. It was lit up with construction lights as it's in still in the process
of being completed, but it was impressive nonetheless. Last year I saw half of
the skeletal structure, now it is almost complete. I couldn't help but draw parallels between
the Freedom Tower and the season of Advent that we begin today. There on that sacred ground, unspeakable
darkness overshadowed lower Manhattan and our nation for most of the last
decade. Now the tower stands strong, as
a testament to the determination and persistence of New Yorkers and all of us as
Americans. That tower is a reminder that
evil deeds cannot define us a nation, and that where evil once triumphed, light
now shines. The World Trade Center now
shines with all it's buildings around those two hallowed footprints, and soon a
proud city and nation will dedicate One World Trade Center as a beacon of
freedom, light and hope
As Christians, we begin this
Advent season of light and hope longing for Christ in our lives. As St. Paul tells the Romans, we must cast off
all darkness, the darkness of sin, and clothe ourselves with the armor of
light. This light is Christ. We carry
with us the hope of his coming. We set
our sights high, as Isaiah says, on the highest mountain. And God indeed wants us to set our sights
high. Let us cast off excuses to live
lives of holiness. Let us put aside
lives of sin and depravity (St. Paul
goes into great detail of what type of sins we must discard in the second
reading) and dare to walk in Christ's marvelous light. Do not be deceived by the allure of sin or by
the need to go back to Christ with the same wounds,
This week, when I began to read
Pope Francis' new Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy
of the Gospel), he gives a beautiful message in his seond paragraph that in my
eyes is tailor made for Advent:
Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord,
I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet
here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once
again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels
to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never
tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. (EG 2)
Do not be afraid to repeat this
prayer that the Holy Father gifted us with over and over again during this
Advent season. God doesn't mind how often
we seek his forgiveness. So arise, my
brothers and sisters. Now is the time to
return to Christ and set our sights on nothing less than holiness. Arise, "let us walk in the light of the
Lord (Isaiah 2:5)" and leave the ash heap of darkness behind. Do not be afraid.
