My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We have already begun the Season of Advent. Advent is both a beginning and an end; it is like the alpha and omega of the Church’s year of grace, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It reminds us that the beginning and end form an unbreakable circle of time which helps us to recognize that the time we spend on earth is the beginning of the eternal life we hope for.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his latest encyclical, “Spe Salvi” (“In Hope We Are Saved”), has an interesting paragraph on eternal life. “What is it?” is how he titles the paragraph. The paragraph which follows offers us an opportunity to reflect not only on the commemoration of the birth of Christ, but also on His second coming, which we call the Parousia.

“Faith is the substance of hope. But then the question arises: do we really want this – to live eternally? Perhaps many people reject the faith today simply because they do not find the prospect of eternal life attractive. What they desire is not eternal life at all, but this present life, for which faith in eternal life seems something of an impediment. To continue living forever – endlessly – appears more like a curse than a gift. Death, admittedly, one would wish to postpone for as long as possible. But to live always, without end – this, all things considered, can only be monotonous and ultimately unbearable.”

In fact, the word Advent is a direct translation of the Greek word parousia, so it does not mean time of expectation, but rather it means presence, even more accurately arrival. It is the beginning of a presence, and the antiquity of the word was a technical term for the presence of a ruler, and also of the god who was being worshipped who bestowed his parousia on his devotees for a time. Advent then means a presence begun, the presence being that of God. God’s presence is something always with us, hence its relationship to eternity, not a boring and monotonous eternity, as the Holy Father points out to us, but rather one which builds on the life we have lived on earth, the life in which we have encountered God’s Presence, through the liturgy, prayer and service to our neighbor. Advent is a time when we look forward but also we look to the present, recognizing that Emmanuel – God is already with us.

Perhaps this Advent could be a time when we do recognize the Presence of God among us and pay more attention especially to those closest to us, our families. We will be trying to please them in many ways before Christmas comes, by shopping, decorating, cooking special cookies and dishes that are expected for Christmas. In the midst of all the busy-ness which we engage in during this time, let us recognize the purpose of it all. The goal is to find God’s Presence among us. All of these actions can indeed be helpful to our recognition of the imminent Presence of the transcendent and eternal God with us.

On Dec. 8 we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It comes at the beginning of Advent each year to remind us that Jesus was born of Mary ever-Virgin who was conceived without sin. In order that she could become the Mother of God, no stain of sin touched her. She was free from what we call Original Sin; never in her life was there any attachment to sin, but she always followed God’s Will. What a wonderful Advent model Mary makes, that we redirect our lives to pursuing God’s Will, not simply our own. We discern God’s Will through prayer and participation in the life of the Church, especially through the Eucharist.

I would like to remind readers that this coming year is the sesquicentennial, the 150th year of the apparition of Our Lady who identified herself as the Immaculate Conception to St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes in France. The Diocese of Brooklyn will be conducting a pilgrimage April 21-28, 2008 to Lourdes and the Catholic shrines of Paris. I, myself, will lead that pilgrimage, accompanied by Bishop Octavio Cisneros and Bishop Frank Caggiano, both of whom will take those pilgrims who wish to go to Rome and Fatima respectively on a continuation of the pilgrimage. It will be the week following the papal visit to the United States; the Holy Father will also be visiting the Shrine of Lourdes during the anniversary year to honor Mary’s Immaculate Conception and to bring that message to a world that needs to hear that with God all things are possible.

As we begin this Advent season, we are “putting out into the deep” to find the Messiah who has come and is with us. That Emmanuel who is God always is with us, beginning now into eternity. As the Holy Father has challenged us in his encyclical, do we really have as part of our faith the hope of eternal life?