Between the two comings of Jesus, one at Christmas and the other at the end of time, there is a “third coming” of the Savior, which occurs at every moment of our lives.

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Newsroom (01/12/2024 21:27, Gaudium Press) The Liturgy of the First Sunday of Advent is permeated by the prospect of commemorating the first coming of Our Lord, with his birth in the cave in Bethlehem, and the preparation for the second, which will take place at the end of the world to judge all humanity:

“Then they will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and glory” (Lk 21:27).

 According to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, however, there are three comings of our Lord: the first, when he came by his Incarnation; the second is daily when he comes to each one of us by his grace; and the third, when he will come to judge the world. In another passage, Doctor Melifluus specifies that Christ’s second advent is hidden and “only the elect see it in themselves, and with it, they save their souls”. He constantly comes to us to be“our rest and consolation”. [1]

So we are called to have an encounter with Jesus at every moment. Above all, it will be in the Eucharist. But also, for example, when meditating on the Gospel of the First Sunday of Advent, or listening to an inspired word from one of God’s ministers. That’s why our lives should revolve around a permanent Christmas, which begins when we wake up in the morning and doesn’t end even when we go to sleep at night, because for everything we depend on God’s grace and we must continually wait for the help that comes from him. For this reason, we must follow the advice given by Our Lord:

“Take care that your hearts are not insensitive because of gluttony, drunkenness, and the worries of life” (Lk 21:34).

Let us be attentive and take advantage of these valuable invitations of grace so that we are in a position to receive, not with fear and despair, but with joy, the just Judge who will descend from heaven in all pomp and majesty and say to those on earth who have trusted in his mercy and fulfilled his Commandments: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Mt 25:34). Whoever always has this end in mind will have redoubled courage to practice virtue and appear without fear at the definitive meeting with Our Lord.

So let’s get ready because he will come when we least expect it!

Extract, with alterations, from CLÁ DIAS, João Scognamiglio. The unpublished Gospels: commentaries on the Sunday Gospels. Città del Vaticano-São Paulo: LEV-Instituto Lumen Sapientiæ, 2012, v. 5, p. 37.

[1] BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX. Sermons of the Season. On the Advent of the Lord. Sermon V. In: Collected Works. Madrid: BAC, 1953, v. I, p. 177.

Compiled by Dominic Joseph