The time of Advent is a time in which we renew our expectation of the Lord who has already entered into history, but who will return to bring it to an end. It is a brief but intense time, in which awakening, as we say these days, does not mean doing nothing, falling asleep, or lying down somewhere, but, on the contrary, reawakening all our lucidity and wonder at reality, and at what God, in reality, does. Even though reality, as the Gospel reminds us, often frightens us: terrible signs, anguish, fears, wars, earthquakes, cataclysms… The Gospel even says that we are all scared to death of reality, which is true for many reasons. However, in such moments, Jesus says: “Lift your heads and realize that I am coming, and your redemption is near.” It would be good to have this ability. How to do it? Jesus gives two basic instructions. The first is not to overwhelm your hearts. In our hearts there are wrong desires, things that make us live at a hectic pace because we are looking for something in reality that is not there. Therefore, not overwhelming the heart means finding the right depth of our desires, and understanding what we want and what reality can offer us. And then Jesus says: “Be watchful and pray.” It is not enough to pray; first, we must open our eyes wide, and be vigilant. This is a fundamental instruction because many times we say prayers, but nothing happens to us, because we still have our eyes closed, that is, we do not have a look of trust and attention to reality. And, instead, the time of Advent begins exactly like this: opening our eyes, entering into our hearts, beginning to pray.
