Pastoral Instruction
for the First Sunday of Advent
“PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD”
November 30, 1986
Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand!
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his path.
Every valley shall be filled,
every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight.
ADVENT, the beginning of the
Church Year, begins on Sunday, 30 November. Our 100 Days of Prayer and Penance
for Reconciliation, Unity and Safe Journeying come to their end. But the season
of the “waiting for the Lord’s coming” begins, with its “O come, O come,
Emmanuel” — Halina, Hesus,
halina!
Advent when it comes,
calls us again to its special grace:
- grace to realize once again our need of redemption, the grace reawakening
in our hearts the longing for our Redeemer;
- grace of penitence and conversion,
of turning back to God for forgiveness and renewal of life;
- grace of a joyous expectation,
of an eager hope, that the
Lord come again, to save us.
Each year the Church our
Mother says to us: For the four weeks preceeding
Christmas, go to God as his children. Turn to God for his gifts of conversion
and forgiveness. Pray, pray more, pray more earnestly. Do penance. With his
grace, turn away from sins of weakness, from the hardheartedness of pride, from the drive of selfishness. Let the
Spirit awaken in your soul that great longing for the coming of the Lord, so
that “O come, O come, Emmanuel,” becomes more than just a line from a hymn sung
in church, but the cry of your own heart. “Halina, halina!”
OUR ADVENT OF 1986
As Advent comes this year, how
many reasons we have, to make this a special Advent-time!
In the Church, throughout our country, November 23, 1986 was the
beginning of a National Eucharistic Year.
We pray and work, with all our
hearts and all our might, that the Holy Eucharist, the One Bread that is the
Lord’s own Body and Blood, may make each one of us Christians truly — more and
more — One Body of Christ, a church truly united in mind and heart, in the
Heart of the Savior.
In turn, through prayer and
action, we will labor as God’s People in the land, to bring about
reconciliation, fellowship, unity of purpose and will, among our fellow
Filipinos. Our supplication, our hope, our endeavor we sum up in the words: ONE
BREAD, ONE BODY, ONE PEOPLE.
This Eucharistic Year and its
great challenges begins during this Advent Season.
In our country, we share a new moment in our nation’s history: a
crucial time of reconstruction. We have regained many of our lost liberties. We
are, we trust, on our way to restoring democratic institutions. A draft
constitution, fruit of an intense and painstaking collaboration, now awaits our
people’s judgment. Elections are in the offing, if it is ratified. Yet the
present remains a troubled one, uncertain, difficult... but hopeful, too.
Despite great gains, undeniable progress forward, there remain longstanding
problems, evils grown inveterate, persistent corruption, enduring divisions.
The Bishop’s 1985 draft pastoral spoke of a widespread erosion of moral values
and a murky moral climate, a weakened and inconstant sense of purpose and
discipline as a people, ‘morale’ gone low among us — all these even the
“miracle of February” and the months after it have not taken away.
But we must say it again: hope
remains strong. It calls us to redoubled efforts at national renewal. We are
challenged, ever more urgently, to place the common good, the love of our
people and our country, above merely personal or familial interests and
advantage. We must reawaken our commitment to spiritual and moral values, to
the demands of the Gospel in our lives.
We are called, all of us, to a
collective examination of conscience. In the weeks to come, in other messages
to you, we hope to return to this theme.
But now, as Advent begins, we
must focus on a renewal of life, an inner conversion, an effort at reform and
purification, by God’s grace, in our attitudes and deeds. Advent always calls
us to this, but this advent more than most. Advent is always, each year, a time
of penance, praying, sharing, watching. Our present needs, personal and
national, ask of us all of that, but in a more fervent, more urgent, more
intense way.
We ask all of you, dear
brothers and sisters in Christ, you who are proud to be called “the faithful”
of the Church, to draw up for yourselves, as individuals and communities, a
program, no matter how simple or modest, for Advent penance and praying,
sharing and watching, so that (as the Advent preface says) when the Lord comes
he may find us in readiness for his coming, “our hearts filled with wonder and
with praise.” Let our Advent efforts, by God’s grace, witness to the longing
that is in us: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!” Halina, Hesus, halina!
We urge all our faithful in
the Archdiocese to make this Advent of 1986 a special one, in its inner
spirit of RETURNING TO THE LORD, of PREPARING A WAY FOR THE LORD. Let this
Advent be truly a shaping of a new mind and a new heart in each and all of us,
so that from every depths of our spirits the longing for the coming of the
Redeemer may arise, a whole people crying out for the salvation of the Lord,
both in prayer and deeds.
Appendix: a prayer for Advent
which may be recited in our churches after the petitions of the faithful
(intercessory prayers)
God, Our Lord, who each year “comes again to us” at
Advent time, we your people turn to you in prayer and longing. In this Advent
season, more than ever, we need the light of your Presence, the concern and
caring of your love.
Reconciliation and unity among us, our working
together in our efforts for national recovery, for peace and prosperity, for
freedom in true brotherhood, — are both your gift and our task. Bless the work
of peace-making in our country. Bless all of us with the miracle of your peace,
which is the fruit of justice. Teach us to place the common good above our
selfish and partisan concerns and ambitions. Teach us to love and labor for our
brothers and sisters who are poor and in need, the voiceless and powerless, the
“little ones” with whom you have identified yourself.
Let this Advent be a time of repentance and renewal
for our whole nation, a time of walking hand-in-hand, one in mind and heart,
toward the Day of Your Coming Again in Bethlehem.
Lead us, Holy Mother of Jesus, to your Son, the Prince
of Peace. Lead us to the Eucharist, so that from that One Bread, we may be made
truly One Body, and our people truly One People.
For Church communities,
parishes, schools, organizations, etc., we here set down some concrete
recommendations for religious activities. These activities are meant to help us
celebrate Advent fittingly. They are meant to call us to the most important
thing: A RENEWAL IN OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS who try to live by the Gospel
and its demands.
PRAYER AND VIGIL BEFORE THE
BLESSED SACRAMENT (In keeping with the observance of the Eucharistic Year)
Daily. An Hour of Prayer, if possible before the Blessed
Sacrament.
In each parish, one organization or association (e.g., the parish
council, CFM-ers, Legion of Mary, youth club, cursillistas, etc.) by turns take one day, one evening, for
this Holy Hour. Even a small group, praying with earnestness and devotion, can
make a great contribution to a renewal of spirit, theirs and that of the
parish.
In each school, one class or one school organization, can take its
turn in the calendar of HOLY HOURS.
Thus, various organizations,
classes, take turns: each one is assigned a given day, so that every day the
practice is kept up.
Weekly. A parish or school Holy Hour, once each week, on the
day, and at the hour, at which most people can participate. With well-chosen
hymns, prayers, recitation of the rosary, some time for quiet reflection and
silent adoration.
The Archdiocesan Liturgical
Commission will have booklets with prayers, etc., which may be conveniently
used during these Holy Hours.
Note:We call especially on the Adoracion
Nocturna and the Apostleship of Prayer to foster Holy
Hours and Vigils before the Blessed Sacrament. These exercises of prayer, these
hours of Eucharistic worship, can be fittingly made part of the observance of
the 1987 Eucharistic Year.
REFLECTIONS AND RETREATS
In each parish, school,
retreat house, special Advent Retreats or weekends or days of prayer and
reflection can be held.
Let these retreats and days of
prayer awaken in us not only concern for our personal lives, but for the needs
of our poor brothers and sisters, and the concerns of our country in the
present period.
THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE
Each parish or school can set
aside one or two evenings during the Advent season where several (if possible,
many) priests can be present to hear confessions. Let there be a well-prepared
penitential service, followed by the opportunity for confession for all those
who wish to approach the sacrament.
We ask all our priests to make
themselves available for these occasions. We know they will be generous and
self-sacrificing in helping the faithful celebrate this Advent fittingly.
Priests in religious communities are earnestly asked to help out in parishes
and schools, when these confessions are to be heard.
PENANCE AND ALMSGIVING
It is hard to prescribe the
same practices of penance for all. Fasting has always been, in Scripture
and the Church’s tradition, a privileged way of doing penance. One day of
fasting each week would be a good practice.
Prayer and fasting, the saints
tell us, go well together!
Almsgiving, sharing with the
poor whatever we can share, is especially called for at Advent. Let our
almsgiving and sharing be personal, not just by proxy. Let us give also of our
time, our energy, our convenience, our compassion and love.
Devotedly in Christ,
(SGD.) + Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
Manila, November 30, 1986
