Saturday of the Thirty-FourthWeek in Ordinary Time
The waiting for the one who comes
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” Lk 21,34-36
Today, the liturgical year ends with this exhortation of Jesus to watch, to remain careful not to abandon ourselves to dissipations and drunkenness’s and even not to let us be taken by the cares of the life. The sentry, to be sure not to be surprised by those who can come at any moment, must continually look around, paying attention to every movement, from the wind which blows to the bushes which move. This is the waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ in the history, which will take place by the end of the times, but which will have as the prophetic premise the end of our earthly life. Tomorrow the Advent season of the new liturgical year will begin, during which we will be called to live again the waiting for the first coming of Jesus Christ on the earth. It is the wonderful destiny of our life, to continually wait for him to come, with the certainty that he will come, because he already came. It is the expectation of the bride who awaits the groom in the joy, as described in the Song of the Songs by this picture: “Hark! my lover-here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. My lover speaks; he says to me, ‘Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!’ For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!” (Sg 2,8-13).
This is the new Advent.