Goodbye, Year of Mercy

As the Year of Mercy comes to a close, Catholics across the world have celebrated the feast of Christ the King and will soon be lighting Advent candles. This particular moment in the liturgical year - the transition from one cycle to another, from end to beginning - more than ever puts before believers the conviction of reliance on God.

Last Sunday Christians declared Jesus as King of the Universe, "before all things, and in him all things hold together, that in all things he himself might be preeminent." Blasting organs and joyful alleluias filled the air and the grandeur of Christianity reigned. Yet, this Sunday, the same congregations will gather in comparatively quiet churches, with no Gloria sung. We now await Jesus, hope for a savior - a king - to come, rather than rejoicing that we have been "delivered out of darkness and transferred into his kingdom." We are suddenly in darkness - lighting candles one by one each week, the light growing stronger in anticipation, preparing for Christ to come, the "great light."


There is much comfort to be found in the liturgical year, for unlike a calendar year where one heads blindly into the new year hoping for good things - for health, wealth, an end to war, poverty, and starvation - the liturgical year brings, cycle after cycle, the fullness of Christ into the world. The liturgical year accompanies us through our calendar year to reinforce that regardless of what lies ahead, Christ is there, and He has already conquered death and sin, which is precisely why time is measured AD, The Year of Our Lord: He always reigns.

The swift shift the end of November brings reminds Christians that while times will come when it seems God is not there, and darkness and cold dominate the earth, they must look to the light and remember that in fact God is there. Always and everywhere. He has come and He is coming again. He comes each Sunday (and weekday) in the Eucharist. His spirit dwells on Earth and we are never alone. Those four little candles progressively lit throughout Advent are a symbol that light does and will overcome the darkness.

The journey through life is not always sunshine and butterflies, and God knew that first hand. In the flesh, He suffered upon the cross. He knows pain but greater than that, He knows joy. He is joy. May we all remember this as we head into what may be a tumultuous year ahead, and may we remember through the times of darkness to light our candles, and remember that Christ is King.