Psalm Reflection: The First Sunday of Advent - Cycle C

“To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.” - Psalms 25

When I was in high school I was at a friend’s house and when we walked into his room, the floor was covered with music magazines. They were piled so high you could not see the carpet, and before I knew it I was stacking and organizing them. I spent the next two hours cleaning his room.

I love cleaning. I find it therapeutic, and when I am in a chaotic space I cannot help but intervene and organize. I like it when everything has a place that makes sense and makes life more efficient and easier.

As I prayed through this Psalm, the phrase “I lift my soul,” reminded me of the phrase, “give it a facelift.” It is amazing what people can do to transform a space, an office, or an entire home with a little cleaning and organization.

As we enter the season of Advent, we are invited to give our spiritual lives a cleaning and a facelift. Advent is very much like a season of pregnancy: we are joyfully anticipating Christmas, but also preparing for it to arrive. In the same way that couples have a nesting process to welcome a new child into the family, we must undergo a nesting process every Advent to be prepared to welcome Christ into our lives in a new way.

What spiritual clutter exists in your life?

What do you need to get rid of?

What tools or structures do you need to be more spiritually focused?

Like a smaller version of Lent, Advent is also a season of penitence. We are invited to get to confession, and to practice growth in the areas of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to better focus our attention on what matters most in life, and to detach from the rest.

This time of year comes with immense chaos and pressure to participate in the holidays in a certain way: the Christmas cards, the matching outfits, the shopping, the parties, the presents, the baking, the traditions, etc. Advent grounds us in a different reality that reminds us what matters most: God became man to save us from sin and death.

The moment that Jesus Christ entered the world, the plan for our salvation was inevitable and underway. This time of year should be one of profound peace, joy, gratitude, wonder and awe at the depth of the Lord’s love for us.

However you celebrate this year, keep the joy of the incarnation at the forefront of your mind and heart. If that proves difficult, it may be a sign that we need a spiritual deep clean. Take some time to reset, reorganize, and recommit yourself to a rhythm of prayer that animates and fulfills you, instead of one that gets lost or forgotten in the shuffle of everything else going on.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist!

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, December 1st, 2024, The First Sunday of Advent - Cycle C: Psalms 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14.