Pope at Audience: Advent teaches us how to wait in active hope
At the Jubilee Audience, Pope Leo XIV reflects on the
importance of active waiting during the Advent Season, as we learn to hope and
help bring the Kingdom of God closer through our good actions.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV held a special Jubilee Audience on Saturday, as
the Church journeys in the Advent Season toward Christmas.
In his catechesis, the Pope said Advent teaches us to pay
attention to the signs of the times, since it takes preparation and effort to
recognize Jesus in our world and daily lives.
Our waiting for the fulfilment of creation and its
redemption is not passive, he said, noting that God always seeks to involve us
in His work.
“God involves us in His story, in His dreams,” he said. “To
hope, then, is to participate.”
He recalled the Jubilee theme—“Pilgrims of Hope”—and said
that motto will not lose meaning when the Jubilee ends at Christmas.
Rather, it calls us to journey in hope throughout our lives
and wait, not with our hands in our pockets but by actively taking part.
Christians, said the Pope, must “read the signs of the
times,” which are the signs of God in historical circumstances, according to
the Second Vatican Council.
“God is not outside the world, outside this life: we have
learned from the first coming of Jesus, God-with-us, to seek Him in the
realities of life,” he said. “To seek Him with intelligence, with the heart and
with our sleeves rolled up!”
Lay Catholics are especially called to embrace this mission,
since the Incarnate God comes to meet us in daily life and the problems and
beauties of this world.
He recalled the life and witness of Alberto Marvelli, a
young, 20th-century Italian member of Catholic Action, who wanted to rebuild
Italy after the devastation of the Second World War.
He risked his life in politics and was struck and killed by
a military truck while bicycling to a rally.
“The world becomes better if we give up a little security
and comfort in order to choose what is good,” said the Pope. “This is
participation.”
In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to ask
ourselves if we are engaging our talents joyfully in service of others and the
Kingdom of God.
“To hope is to participate: this is a gift that God gives
us,” he said. “No one saves the world alone. Not even God wants to save it
alone: He could, but He does not want to, because together is better.”
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