#catholic #sspx #advent

• There are two comings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the first at Christmas and the second at the Last Judgment.
• St. Paul speaks of the Last Judgment today when he says: “pass no judgment before the time, until the Lord comes, Who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts.”
• We know this is one of the characteristics of the Last Judgment: everything will be revealed.
• But this is also one of the characteristics of the First Coming of Our Lord: His first coming brought to light many things that were hidden before.
• Recall what the old man Simeon said in prophecy to Our Lady, in the very same chapter as today’s Gospel, when He says that Our Lord will be a light of revelation to the Gentiles.
• The first chapter of St. John’s Gospel, which we read at the end of every Mass, also speaks of Our Lord as the light in His first coming, saying that He is “the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world”.
• And in this time of Advent, the Church quotes for us this prophetical passage from Isaias: “The people that sat in darkness, hath seen great light: and to them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up” (Is. 9:2). St. Matthew tells us that this prophecy was fulfilled by the preaching of Our Lord.
• The light that Our Lord brought to the world with His first Coming is very great:
  • He showed us clearly what our purpose is, what we are made for.
  • He taught us the moral law in a much clearer way than the Old Testament did. Recall the Sermon on the Mount, which shines a new light on the Ten Commandments. By doing this, He gave us a much clearer idea of what is good and what is evil, what is sinful and what is not.
  • Our Lord showed us clearly the meaning of suffering and how the Cross is a valuable part of our life, if we bear it with humility and resignation.
  • Our Lord showed us clearly the way that we must live our lives, if we are to fulfill our God-given purpose.
  • Our Lord gave us the fullness of revelation, all of the supernatural truths that we need to know in order to unite ourselves with God.
• St. John says of Our Lord that “His life was the light of men”. His life and His teaching changed the course of the world simply because Our Lord brought a light into this world that it had never seen before and which can never be exceeded.
• But, as you know, the reaction to this light was very different on the part of those who received it in Our Lord’s lifetime.
• When you are in a dark room for some time and then you go outside, the light is too bright for your eyes. There are three things that you can do:
  • Go back inside and return to the darkness.
  • Close your eyes to the light and try to walk in a state of blindness.
  • Allow your eyes to hurt for a little while until they are able to adjust to the brightness.
• These represent the three types of reactions to Our Lord’s light both in His time and ours.