I love to ask people of all ages, “What are you most looking forward to?” Small children will usually respond, “To my birthday, or to Christmas.” I have heard responses from older folks such as “To grandchildren, or to seeing my grandchildren.” “To my next pilgrimage or cruise or vacation.” But I don’t often hear, “To Heaven.” “To seeing Jesus’s face to face, because He is the fulfillment of all desire.” If someone responded that way, many would see them as overly religious or pious. We might see them as a bit strange; a “Holy Roller.”
Advent is a good time for a gut check on what we are hoping for. Pope Benedict wrote an encyclical entitle “Saved by Hope.” We cannot live without hope. The opposite of hope is despair. Another way to ask the question is: “What do you really believe will bring you true happiness?”
I said to my mother a few years before she died: “I am so blessed in this world. I certainly have everything I need, but I also have everything I want. There is nothing in this world that I want, that I could not go out and buy, or attain in some way.” My mother knew me well and she responded very wisely: “Yes, but the things you want have changed a lot since you were small.”
The Church invites us during Advent to turn our hearts and minds towards Jesus. St. John the Baptist saw Him walking down the riverbank, pointed to him and told his own disciples: “Behold the Lamb of God. Go follow him; not me.” And he said it with a sense of urgency!
Many of the saints attest that the real purpose of prayer is to change our desires. People will sometimes complain that God does not answer their prayers. These saints reply that once a person begins to desire the right things, and to pray for the right things, God will always answer their prayers.
Advent is a reminder to the entire Church to put your hope in Jesus. This does not mean that you cannot be excited about a visit from the grandchildren, or a nice trip. We are excited to see them excited about their birthdays and about Christmas! Making the people we love happy, makes us happy.
But in your gut, what do you really believe will bring you happiness? In what are you really hoping?