Festive Refinement
Author: Marco Casanova
December 13, 2020
“Rejoice!” (Phil 4:4) Today is
known as “Gaudete Sunday” (Gaudete--Latin “rejoice”). We set a
fire to the lone rose-colored candle. The rosy wick is a bold reminder that an event is underway. “The Lord is near!”
(Phil 4:5) Therefore, rejoice!
As a kid, I approached Advent
full of wonder. Of course! I loved awaiting the feasts, buoyed by holiday cheer.
Innocence has room to celebrate. Growing into adulthood tempered the
experience.
Advent seasons in college were
broken up by hidden divides. Tripped up on pornography and restlessly looking
for the next “gay” hookup, my Advent expectation became anxiety. The Church’s
call to “rejoice” couldn’t deepen in me. I had clutter in my heart that was
chocking my freedom to rejoice.
What’s the remedy? John the
Baptist models it.
“Who are you?” the priests
and Levites asked John. “I am not the Christ…I am the voice of one crying out
in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord” (Jn 1:19-20, 23).
Revealing oneself is the remedy for making His way
straight in us. Expose the clutter. Allow the light of the Gaudete candle to
come near. Blaze a way for the Babe of Bethlehem. Extinguish any shadowy habit
or lusty lover that is choking your freedom. Tis the season! The moment is now.
The Lord is near!
A German pastor, Fr. Alfred
Delp, took a prophetic stance against the Hitler regime. Delp loved Advent. His
Advent preaching was fire. Eventually imprisoned and murdered, his spoken
homilies became writings that were compiled in a fine read,
Advent of the
Heart.
From jail, he writes on
Gaudete Sunday 1944: “Man must be brought to an absolute
clarity about himself and
honesty
before himself and others…He must come down from the high horses of vanity
and self-deception that, for a time, let themselves be trotted forth so
proudly.”[1] Delp urges us to take action. Have a hand in your conversion. Sweep the mess from
your lives, and then, like the Baptist, point to Him. “He is the One” (Jn
1:27).
I remember moments when floods
of Jesus’ light exposed the darkness in me. Those little “events” of redemption
are forever etched on my heart. I’m grateful for the priests and friends who
would weep and pray with me as I spoke out my crippling divides. It was then
that I was free to rejoice. His joy became my strength; I was clean, awaiting
Him with expectancy. I could authentically point to Him.
Now
I help others find this light. My main battles are not personal but
interpersonal as I point out the Way to others. As I have learned to walk in
the Light, I invite others to do so alongside of me. Jesus trained me in coming
close to me. The way He “advents” towards me teaches me to go and do likewise.
With
Abbey, I co-lead a Living Waters group in my local Catholic parish. This group
is gift. The Lord is refining me to battle with the heart of a pastor for
persons weaker than me. Don’t be so self-focused. Behold the other. Fight for
their freedom. Become the Baptist who points to the One who takes away every
sin of the world. My personal fight for chastity can easily become a bit
self-focused. Jesus’ light is refining this father heart.
The exposing light of Advent
is ongoing. Thank God. Pivotal moments are just the beginning. I need Advent to
sweep house for the Guest. Rejoice. He draws near.
[1] Alfred Delp,
Advent of the Heart (San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006), 108-109.
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