Moving towards the Jubilee New Year: 4 Advent Articles to Prepare for the Coming of Christ and the Jubilee Year (Reflection 1 of 4)

Happy New Year!   Advent is the time the Church starts a New Liturgical Year as well as a time of preparation.  As a wise priest said, “We prepare for shopping and for gifts, but do we prepare for the gift of the Christ-child?   Thus, I will write an article each week taking from the Mass and readings for the Mondays during Advent so we can move towards the Jubilee.  Since move starts with “m”, each of the weeks will have a “M”-theme to reflect upon.   This week will be “Mountains.”  Then “Mary”, “Mystery”, and we’ll end with “Messenger”.  All these will help prepare for the Christ-child as we prepare to open the Holy Doors on Christmas Eve. So let us begin our preparation with this week’s theme of mountains.

Mountains are beautiful places.  In Scripture, they were places man went to meet God and God came, in a sense, to meet man.  This covenantal meeting is preparation for the Incarnation.  Christ is Mountain of God (see Ex. 3:1; Heb. 8:5; Rev. 21:10) and thus we will examine mountains in a more profound way to start this Advent of Jubilee.

We meditate upon Isaiah, “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways and we may walk in his path” (Is. 2:3).  This verse will be our guide for this reflection.     We will look at “climbing the mountain”, then “walking in his path”, and then “being instructed in his ways”.  

First, we will examine climbing the mountain.   Various mountains in Scripture teach us about preparation.    Mt. Carmel (1Kgs 18) was the place where the prophet Elijah defeated the false idols of Baal.  Thus, this mountain teaches us that we need to get rid of sin and false idols to climb towards God.  We must prioritize God and serve Him.   This brings us to our next mountain, which is Mt Sinai (also known as Mt Horeb) in Ex. 20.   This is the mountain on which Moses received the 10 Commandments.   So, once we get rid of evil, then we can start to receive and follow God’s Commandments.  The instant we have a heart for God’s Commandments, then we can take up the sign of our third mountain which is Mount Olivet (Lk 22; Acts1:9-12).  It was here that Jesus prayed during His agony in the Garden and ascended to Heaven.  This shows us we must lift our minds and hearts to God in life.  Although our legs touch the earth in this life, we must have our eyes fixed on Heaven. Thus, “climbing the mountain” gives us some food for thought.

Speaking of thoughts which lift our hearts to God, mountains also were places where people “walk[ed] in his path.”   We walk in His path by worship.  Acts of worship and worship occurred on mountains and were often accompanied by incense.   Incense is a visible sign of how we lift our minds and hearts to God, but also a reminder of our missions in the Holy Mountain of God (who is Christ and His Church).  At Mass, we may see the altar incensed after the Offertory.  The altar is the center of incense because it is a sign of Christ who is both the altar and Sacrifice (Heb. 13:10ff).  This is the reason the clergy kiss the altar at the beginning and end of Mass.  Everything flows from Him which is the reason three things are incensed to show our connection to Christ.  There is bread which is symbolic of the work of our hands.  We hear this during the consecration which the priest recites:

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life (Roman Missal, Third edition, sec. 23).

This is a sign of our prophetic mission as all of our work is meant to proclaim Christ and build the Kingdom of God.  Then there is the wine.  Wine is made up of grapes which must be crushed to be used as drink.   This is a sign of sacrifice and thus our priestly (common not hierarchical) calling to make sacrifices for God.   Then finally, the people are incensed.   This reminds us of our royal dignity and being set apart for God which is a share in the kingly office.  The Offertory incensation of the altar reminds us of our connection to Christ the mountain of God, who is both altar and victim>  It is He who invites us to share in His three-fold office of prophet, priest, and king.   In this we “walk in God’s path”. 

This brings us to the final aspect of mountains which is a reminder to be “instructed in His ways.”   In the Gospel, we saw the Faith of the Centurion who knew the Lord was in control and so he could completely abandon everything to Him.  When we have this kind of trust, our "souls are healed."  Thus, like in our Collect for Monday’s Mass, “when Jesus comes and knocks, he may find us watchful in prayer and exultant in his praise.”  When we are watchful in prayer, it will help us to be like the Lord who taught us through His humanity the lesson of the Prayer after Communion which states, “we walk amid passing things but must love the things of heaven and hold fast to what endures.”

In conclusion, for this first week of the Jubilee Advent, let us meditate on the beauty and power of mountains.  Let us “climb the mountain” remembering to get rid of evil prioritizing God (Mt. Carmel), so we can receive and obey God’s commandments (Mt. Sinai), and then lift up our minds and hearts to God (Mt. Olivet).   Afterwards, let us “walk in His path” through going to the mountain of worship.   We remember worship is the foundation of living out the gift of Jesus’s three-fold office in our lives as priest, prophet, and king.  Finally, let us be “instructed in His ways” by acts of faith, being watchful in prayer, and loving the things of heaven so we can hold fast to what endures. May Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, prepare us to receive Christ, the Holy Mountain of God so we can have Peaceful Hearts, Zealous Hearts.  Amen.

To prepare for the baby Jesus, take time to come to know about His heart.  Pick up a copy of Peaceful Hearts, Zealous Hearts for Advent and the Jubilee Year.