Advent - "Presence & Arrival"

“Advent”—what does this mean? “Advent” is a Latin word that can be rendered in English as “presence, arrival”. In the language of the ancient world it was a technical term expressing the arrival of an official, especially the arrival of kings or emperors in the provinces. It could, however, equally denote the arrival of the deity who appears out of concealment and powerfully manifests his presence or whose presence was celebrated in cultic ritual. The Christians adopted this term to proclaim their special relationship to Jesus Christ. For them, he is the King who entered this wretched province, our world, and gifted it with the feast of his visit. He it is whose presence in the liturgical assembly they profess. With this expression they intended to say, in general, “God is here.” He has not abandoned this world. He has not left us behind alone. Even though we cannot see and touch him like so many things—he is present, nevertheless, and visits us in many ways. Advent is a twofold reminder for us: for one, that God’s presence in the world has already begun, that he, in hidden ways, is already here; and then, that his presence has only just begun and not yet reached completion but still is growing, developing, maturing. His presence has already begun, and we, the believers, are the ones through whom he desires to be present in the world. Through our faith, hope, and love he desires to shine his light ever anew into the night of the world. The lights we kindle during the dark nights of this wintertime are therefore both a consolation and a reminder: the consoling assurance that “the Light of the world” has already appeared in the darkness of the night in Bethlehem and has changed the unholy night of human sin into the holy night of divine forgiveness for this sin.

                                                   - Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) in Licht, das uns leuchtet, pp. 12ff.