Preparing to Embrace Emmanuel

by Fr. Roger J. Landry - December 22, 2006

The whole season of Advent is a lesson in preparation. As we listen to the prophets, we mark the centuries of advance work God did to get the people of Israel ready to expect, recognize and embrace the Messiah. When we encounter John the Baptist, we witness a double divine preparation: John's first task as precursor was to point out the Messiah in the womb; his second was as a prophetic bulldozer, chosen to make a straight path to the hearts of his chosen people, leveling the mountains of their pride and filling in the valleys of their shallow spirituality and fidelity. When we hear the various readings about the end times at the beginning of the season, we recall that all of life is essentially an advent for Christ's second coming, for which Christ himself, the apostles, their successors and the saints throughout the centuries have worked to get us ready, so that we might be awake and alert to embrace the Bridegroom when he comes again.

The chief lesson God teaches us in Advent is that we need to be prepared in order to be ready to embrace Christ when he appears. The U.S. bishops have applied this lesson of preparation to the most immediate and frequent encounter any of us has with Christ.

In their November document "Happy Are Those Who Are Called To His Supper": On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily In The Eucharist, our shepherds have called our attention to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist: the Jesus we adore and receive in the Eucharist is the same one the shepherds adored in the manger and who will come on the clouds of heaven to separate eternally the sheep from the goats. Only the appearances are different. In Bethlehem, the Son of God took on the humble appearance of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. In the Eucharist, he assumes the even humbler appearances of bread and wine.

In order that we not respond to his arrival in mystery as the ancient inn-keepers did in history or those whom Christ says will be caught off-guard when he comes in majesty, the bishops say we need to prepare well. In the second half of their document, they give very practical advice about how to do so.

They begin with the traditional distinction between "remote" and "proximate" preparation." The first, they say, has to do with "how we lives our Christian lives every day," and the second with "how we come to and participate in the Eucharistic liturgy itself."

Our remote preparation, analogous to the preparation of the Jews for centuries awaiting the coming of the Messiah, involves three things: regular prayer and Scripture reading; faithful and loving fulfillment of the duties and responsibilities of our state in life; and daily repentance of sin and regular participation in the Sacrament of Penance. All of these keep us in communion with Christ and foment our hunger to receive Him.

Our proximate preparation, the bishops write, includes several elements. The first is prayerful recollection. They encourage us to arrive early at Mass so that we might enter into a "reverent silence" that will help us to eliminate distractions and focus more easily on the great mystery about to be celebrated. Such silent prayer allows us to remember that we are meeting God and with Him entering the Upper Room, climbing onto the Cross, and rising within the empty tomb.

The bishops then describe the Eucharistic fast as an essential element of our proximate preparation. This requirement of refraining from food and drink (except for water and medicines) for at least one hour prior to receiving Holy Communion "demonstrates reverence and respect for the Body and Blood of Christ" and "teaches us to hunger for Jesus in Holy Communion." A fast longer than an hour, like the midnight fast of earlier days, by the same principle may help us to hunger for Jesus even more.

The bishops next mention that we prepare or fail to prepare for this encounter with Christ by how we dress. "We should come to the sacred liturgy appropriately dressed, … wearing clothes that reflect our reverence for God and that manifest our respect for the dignity of the liturgy and for one another." We dress well for persons and events we consider important, like weddings or meeting a dignitary. The Mass is the wedding feast of the lamb in which we meet the King of Kings (or more appropriately, are married to him as his bride) and how we dress is a sign of the extent to which we recognize these truths.

Finally, the bishops describe what would be called "immediate preparation," how to pray better the various parts of the Mass and unite them to the loving embrace of Christ in Holy Communion. The penitiential rite, the liturgy of the word, the Eucharistic Prayer, the Our Father, the Sign of Peace, the approach of the altar and reverential bow of the head, and the period of silent thanksgiving after Communion are all united to help us to receive the gift of the Lord with love similar to how The penitential rite, they write, helps us to recognize our need for the Savior. The liturgy of the word reminds us of the Emmaus journey and makes our hearts "burn at the hearing of the word of Truth so as to receive Jesus more fervently in Holy Communion." They call us to unite ourselves to the priest in the Eucharistic Prayer, by which we are "joined to Christ in offering sacrifice to God the Father." The prayer of the Our Father reminds us that we are God's beloved children and brothers and sisters of each other, with whom we make amends and reunite in the sign of peace. We make a reverent bow of the head before receiving Holy Communion, "which expresses both our individual and communal adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist as well as … our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in Holy Communion." Lastly, they bishops encourage us to observe a period of silent thanksgiving to God for the gift of Jesus after having receiving Him, much as Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the magi would have done in Bethlehem.

The bishops state simply that "because the celebration of the Eucharist is the source and summit of the entire Christian life, nothing is more important than participating in the Mass with our whole hearts and minds and bodies."

As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, the bishops help us to remember that the best way to prepare to celebrate the birth of the Word made flesh and be ready for his second coming is to receive him in the Eucharist with the type of love we would have in Bethlehem or hope to when he comes again.

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.