# Our Advent journey with Christ
*2016-11-27*

> On the first Sunday of Advent, Bill Young reflects on the spiritual journey toward Christ, guided by the words of Pope Francis and the editor Steve Muller.

## An Inner Journey

Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent. I have been reading a book called 'Our Advent Journey with Christ,' featuring the words of Pope Francis. The editor, Steve Muller, describes this journey as a unique kind of trip. It is not a business trip, though we will profit from it, nor is it a vacation, though we will be refreshed and recharged. This is not an outward journey across geographical land, but an inner journey over the landscape of our hearts.

This journey takes us to the center of our faith to meet the mysterious Other we know as God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God's presence is the organizing factor around which everything else in our lives must revolve.

## Reorganizing Our Lives

As we move through Advent toward Christmas under the guidance of Pope Francis, we have the opportunity to reorganize our lives. We do this by deepening our intimate communication with God, considering His vision of the world, rethinking our own values, and changing our behavior because of our relationship with Jesus.

Reading and pondering the Bible and the words of the Pope acts as an open door. It leads us from the familiar, ordinary, material world into the unfamiliar, extraordinary spiritual inner world where God dwells. Jesus stands at this doorway and invites us to enter, but nothing happens unless we decide to step across that threshold.

## The Guide and the Goal

Today, as we begin the liturgical year, we join the people of God on a journey with Jesus Christ, our shepherd who guides us through history toward the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. This experience allows us to recover the beauty of the Church, her vocations, and her mission to all humanity, civilizations, and cultures.

In this pilgrimage, Jesus Christ is both the guide and the goal. He is the light that allows the people of God to walk toward a kingdom of justice and peace.

## The Horizon of Hope

This journey never truly ends. Just as we in our individual lives always need to begin again and get back up to recover the meaning of our goals, the great human family must also recover a common horizon. That horizon is hope.

The season of Advent restores this horizon of hope—a hope that does not disappoint because it is founded on God's word. We can trust this hope simply because the Lord is faithful, and God never disappoints.

*Advent is an invitation to step across the threshold of the material world and enter an inner journey of hope guided by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.*