Advent 2012 from a Vincentian perspective. Based on letter from Gregory Gay, CM Superior General Congregation of the Mission

1. How does Advent !
move us to serve!
our lords and masters,
God s poor?
from Advent letter of G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
Superior General
Advent, 2012

2. Week
Advent can be a time that
1 brings out our anxiety and
uncertainty.
The Gospel for the first
Sunday of Advent says:
“There will be signs in the sun, moon
and stars, and nations will be in
dismay... people will die of fright in
anticipation of what is coming upon
the world.” (Lk.21:25)

3. Week
1 Wars!
Natural Disasters!
Poverty!
Human Miseries!
Catastrophic Challenges!
Ignorance and Indifference
towards God and Church
How did our founders
respond?

4. Week
Be vigilant
1 Pray
Meditate on the
Word
Receive Jesus in
the Eucharist
Make Jesus the
center of your life
Trust in God
Undertake a
dynamic way of
living the Gospel

5. Week
Advent is a time of
2 awareness and
anticipation.
The Gospel for the second
Sunday of Advent says:
[John the Baptist proclaimed a]
“baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins... a voice of one
crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare
the way of the Lord; make straight
his paths.’” (Lk.3:2-3)

6. Week
2 Beginnings!
Endings!
New Liturgical Year!
End of Calendar Year!
Regrets About the Past Year!
Awareness of Our Sinfulness
How did our founders
respond?

7. Week
Rejoice that God
is forever with us
2 Thank God for His
forgiveness
Practice self-
discipline; avoid
self-indulgence
Focus on the
beauty of
Scripture, hymns
Advance the reign
of God on earth by
serving Christ in
the poor

8. Week
Advent is a call to
3 conversion to Christ and
our charism.
In the Gospel for the third Sunday of
Advent, we hear that although the
crowds varied from ordinary folk to
tax collectors and soldiers, all had the
same question: “What should we
do?” (Luke 3:10) John’s response
was simple and direct: Share all you
have with the needy; do not collect
more taxes than required; do not
extort or falsely accuse anyone; and
be satisfied with your wages. (Luke
3:11-15)

9. Week
Is conversion nothing more
3 than a jump in the Jordan,
and then a fleeting feeling
of relief?!
Is following Christ all about
esoteric spiritual exercises,
or abstract religious
doctrines?
How did our founders
respond?

10. Week
Open your heart
for Jesus to enter,
3 and He will gently
reveal new ways
to live the Gospel
truths
Decide: on whom
and what do I set
my heart?
Minister to others
as though they
were Jesus
himself
Be “ambassadors
for Christ”

11. Week
Advent is a time for
4 redemptive action.
The Gospel for the fourth
Sunday of Advent says:
“Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb…
blessed are you who believed that
what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:39-45).

12. Week
Do we seek merely
4 temporary relief for those
we serve?!
How do we handle life s
worries and anxieties?!
Do we continue anew each
year, regardless of our
ordinariness, our age, or
our state in life?
How did our founders
respond?

13. Week
Be a missionary:
share the Gospel,
4 communicate life
to the poor.
Seek not only
temporary relief
but redemptive
change
Remember that
ordinary people
in salvation
history were
called by God
to play
extraordinary
roles

14. May the Lord Jesus bless you
abundantly in the Advent and
Christmas seasons