PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
ADVENT – CONNECTING TO JESUS
In the Church’s year we have just had our final week and we welcome in the New Liturgical Year. The final Sunday in the Church’s year is the Feast of Christ the King, which was celebrated last weekend.
So this weekend we move into the four weeks of Advent where one of the five Advent candles is lit each week and we light the first Advent candle.
Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.
1st Advent Candle – (purple) THE PROPHECY CANDLE or CANDLE OF HOPE
As Christians we are people of hope. We can have hope in our lives because God is faithful and will keep the promises he has made to us. So our hope is centred in our belief in God.
The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word parousia. Scholars believe that during the 4th and 5th centuries in Spain and Gaul, Advent was a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany.
By the 6th century, however, Roman Christians had tied Advent to the coming of Christ. But the “coming” they had in mind was not Christ’s first coming in the manger in Bethlehem, but his second coming in the clouds as the judge of the world. It was not until the Middle Ages that the Advent season was explicitly linked to Christ’s first coming at Christmas.
“And again, Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will spring up one who will arise to rule over the nations; the gentiles will hope in him. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”. (Romans 15:12 -13)
I urge all families to seek to understand this special time of our Christian calendar and attend your local Church services.