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Advent: Season of Faithfulness
By Jo Rotunno

There’s so much food for reflection in this annual Advent season of watchfulness and waiting. On the first Sunday, Paul proclaims simply and powerfully, “God is faithful, and by him we have been invited into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor 1:9). God’s powerful gift of faithfulness includes a loving invitation to response. For the rest of Advent, we reflect on the quality of that response.

The second week Peter recalls God’s patience with us as we struggle to be faithful (2Peter 3:9). God’s patience offers us hope, but Peter cautions us also to be watchful and prepared, for God will indeed come in judgment. In the third week John recounts the story of John the Baptist who “bears testimony to the light” (John 1:7), and Isaiah reminds us that the witness to justice is not a burden but a source of joy (Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11). We conclude the season with Luke’s reflection on Mary, our model of faithfulness, as she responds to God’s call to become the mother of the Savior (Luke 1:38).

If you are a parish catechetical leader, consider inviting your catechists to gather for a few minutes before or after classes during Advent. Proclaim one of the weekly readings before a lit Advent wreath and invite a moment of silent reflection. Then invite sharing around a question that relates to their classroom ministry. For example: “When is it hard for me to be patient with my class, and how does this passage challenge me?” Invite catechists to invite a similar sharing in their classrooms.

Plan an intergenerational afternoon or evening of reflection on the theme of faithfulness. Various age groups will be enriched by one another’s reflections on their experiences of God’s faithfulness. There is a good model for such a gathering in our whole community catechesis resource, Keeping Faith First. You can adapt this model easily to address any theme.

If you are a classroom catechist, you might extend the Jesse tree activity by inviting the class to act out the story of a different ancestor of Jesus each week. Older students might do research outside of class and prepare presentations about these faith-filled people from our heritage. Make sure to check your series textbook and our Web site, FaithFirst.com, for available lessons and activities.

Above all, take time for yourself in this Advent season. Take a quiet walk alone and recall God’s faithfulness to you. Get up early one morning and sip a cup of hot coffee or tea and recall the warmth of his love. Take the time to stretch out on your sofa and listen to a CD of Handel’s “Messiah.” Commit yourself to prepare the way of the Lord so that in the Christmas season and the new year to come you’ll have a deeper awareness of his abiding presence in your ministry.