Wednesday, December 10
Liturgical Color: Violet
Today the Church honors St. Miltiades,
pope. Born in Africa, he reigned from 311
to 314 A.D. During his pontificate, the
emperor Constantine, after the vision "in
hoc signo vinces," issued his decree of
tolerance for the Christian Faith.
Advent Day 11 – How Can We Fully Enter Into Advent?
by Fr. Robert Barron
I think one of the best ways to enter into Advent is to get reacquainted with the Bible. Many Catholics don’t know the Bible very well. Vatican II called for a revival in biblical studies, but I don’t think that’s happened yet, at least among average Catholics.
We need to understand the great biblical story, beginning with Creation and the Fall, the formation of Israel, the coming of the prophets and patriarchs, and finally the formation of a people that leads to the coming of a savior. It’s only when we get the sweep of that whole story that we understand why the coming of the savior matters, and what the coming of the savior even means.
When you extract Jesus from the biblical narrative, he becomes a mere guru, teacher, or philosopher. That’s all our culture gives us: Jesus as another mystic, seer, or sage. But when you see Jesus against the backdrop of the great story of Israel, now you see that he’s the savior.
So this Advent, I would recommend to all Catholics, open up your Bible and get deeply immersed in the great biblical story.