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Back in the day, 1970 to be exact, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young released a song titled
Carry On.
In the refrain they sang, Carry on. Love is coming. Love is coming to us all.
I thought of this song this past Sunday while at Mass for the First Sunday of Advent. No,
my mind wasn't t drifting!
Actually, quite the reverse.
The pastor was delivering a splendid homily about the Gospel's call for us to remain
awake because the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
He related a story about a friend whose home was broken into and how the friend's reaction
was twofold.
First came the if only's... if only we had locked the back door, if only I had not left
my purse out in the open, and so on.
Second, however, came the thank God comments: thank God no one was hurt, thank God nothing
more was stolen, and so on.
His point was that it is this attitude of gratitude that enables us to carry on in the
midst of challenges.
The Season of Advent is an opportunity for us to focus on what we are thankful for, especially
knowing that more good things are coming.
With Christmas, we celebrate the coming of Love in the Person of Jesus Christ.
He finished his homily by pausing and then saying, in a dramatic and exuberant voice:
Love is coming!
At that moment, I fully expected the church organist to break into a rendition of Carry
On!
Of course, it was not to be. However, the message was very well taken.
Advent is a time of joyful anticipation.
It is a time of longing for something good that we know is coming.
It is not at all like the waiting we experience while at the airport or in the doctor's
office, nor is it like waiting for the Cubs to win a World Series!
The waiting we experience during Advent is not fearful or despairing.
It is confident.
Why? Because love is coming!
Knowing that love is coming is what enables us to carry on each and every day, despite
the darkness that surrounds us.
So, this Advent, let's carry on. Love is coming. Love is coming to us all!