Advent Reconciliation

Summary of a Fr. Gerry Creedon homily from December 09, 2007

"Then the lion will lie down with the lamb." Isaiah 11:6

Advent is a season when we prepare for the coming of the Lord. He comes among us at Christmas not only as an infant, but as the fulfillment of the messianic promise, the Prince of Peace. Opposites will be reconciled. The calf and the young lion will browse together. It will be a time of reconciliation for families, and for the human family. The hopes of Isaiah are not merely a wish for a Christmas card, nor a glimpse of the next life. They are a promise and a call for people today.

What keeps us apart? I often think that a major sin and source of alienation is control. The desire to assume excessive dominance destroys relationships. It is a temptation to which men traditionally have been prone. It results in arrogance. The other is an object to be manipulated. Nations seek dominion over others. Those who threaten our resources or freedoms are demonized. Then it is easier to bomb an enemy.

The way out of this trap is dialogue. Paul VI's first encyclical, one of my favorite official texts, is ECCLESIAM SUAM. It called the church to be in dialogue within itself, with other Christians, believers and with the world. The new Archbishop of Dublin shocked many Dubliners when he announced that he would lead a "Listening church". People were more used to a teaching church. Dialogue includes both speaking and listening.

Dialogue, conciliation, and negotiation are the skills we need if we are to break out of the shackles of control. They are the paths that lead to peace.

Catholics bring a unique focus to peace-making, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We celebrate that sacrament during Advent as we await the revelation of Pax Christi. In days past we used the title "Confession" for this ritual. The name puts the focus on the detailing of "my sins". But there is no Lone Ranger spirituality. We cannot break the bonds of sin on our own. The renewal of the rite and the renaming of this sacrament puts the focus on the reconciling power of God's Spirit.

The feasts of Mary point the way. In December we celebrate her under the titles of Immaculate, and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Her gift to humanity is her openness to the Spirit. While we decorate our homes and do all the needed tasks for the imminent festival, we pause to remember our personal task, to open our hearts to the healing and reconciling power of the Spirit.

The Spirit breaks down the barriers we erect in our pride and opens the way to peace. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths." Matt 3:2

PS. Come to the Advent Reconciliation service on Dec 21st at 7:30pm!