But why these three weeks which present us the glorious Christ of the Parousia precede the one which prepares us directly for the Nativity? In other words, why the end before the beginning, the Return of Christ before his coming in history?

Perhaps to show us that the one we are waiting for is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end?

The Son of Man coming with power and great glory is the same as the Child of the manger. And no doubt it will surprise us as much in his majesty as in his weakness. We were waiting for a brilliant Messiah, a victorious King, and we do not recognize the Son of God in a newborn … “But God there in the manger cried and moaned” (St John of the Cross – Romance IX).

Will we recognize our Judge and Savior in the aspect he will have when he will manifests?

Besides, do we recognize him, He who comes, day after day, in any event, any person, the slightest “touch” in our heart?

Advent is characterized by waiting. The Church, at this liturgical time, educates us to wait. But, let there be no mistake: it is the expectation of ‘the one we do not expect’ in truth, because it is an expectation of the unpredictable, of the Unimaginable, a Novelty that exceeds all knowledge.

In this sense, no Christmas is like any other, at least if we keep our minds awake and our hearts open. Each year, a piece of history crumbles, and a horizon of the new world emerges.

Each time, it is God who makes us better understand Who He Is. Each year, he comes to unseat our certainties, our ideas, our habits and introduce us to the Reality of his living love.

May the Virgin Mary, the Immaculate, and Saint John of the Cross teach us the true expectation which is called: hope!