One Traveler

Sunday, November 29, 2009: the first Sunday of Advent. The four Sundays preceding Christmas are the four Sundays of Advent, a season whose name comes from “ad-venire,” to come towards.

To be exact, Advent commences (at least liturgically) at the hour of Vespers today, with First Vespers (or “Evening Prayer One”) of Advent I, and the psalms of Sunday, Week I in the four-week Roman psalter. (Advent always “re-sets” at Week One.)

Interestingly, the Church has been a tad unclear as to when a holy day begins. For centuries, it was sundown to sundown, as in Jewish practice; this holds liturgically still. But the more general rule is midnight to midnight; hence, Midnight Mass and not Sunset Mass. (Saturday evening Mass fulfills Sunday by the ancient principle.)

The Latin tradition marks the start of a new liturgical year this afternoon as well. However, to wish people “Happy New Year” tomorrow is both highly confusing and only marginally accurate. (I had a priest who did this every single year, with forced hilarity, only to be stared back at with blank expressions on every face.)

Historically, this is more of a penitential season than I was taught (just after Vatican II). If it were only a “season of joyful anticipation,” the color wouldn’t be violet, and we’d sing the Gloria, after all.

Clearly, one aspect of Advent is penitence; how else can one prepare? Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill made low; make straight in the desert an highway… sounds like at least some hard work to me.

In the “olden days” the Fridays of Advent were treated as Good Friday is now: complete fast and abstinence.

Never mind a subtle idea like penance or mortification for the moment; let’s be plain and practical. I ask you: what plainer and more practical witness could Christians make in this land of ours, than to stop eating every now and then?

I may just try the old strict Friday thing and see whether I die of starvation.

The internet is full of free clipart for this holy and solemn season. For the above graphic, I thank twoheartsdesign.com. For the one below, I thank the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, one of the more conservative Lutheran expressions in America. Their use of blue represents a Northern European variant of Advent color:

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 7:11 pm and is filed under Dark of the Year, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.