Advent Reflections

This Advent season, Dean of the School of Theology and Ministry, Thomas D. Stegman, S.J., will offer weekly reflections to help you prepare for Christmas.

Thomas D. Stegman, S.J.

Thomas D. Stegman, S.J., MDiv’94, STL’96 (Weston Jesuit School of Theology) is professor of New Testament and dean of the School of Theology and Ministry. A member of the Midwest Province of the Jesuits, Fr. Stegman enjoys trying to make the riches of Scripture available and accessible to people. He loves rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.

Christmas Reflection

The readings from the Christmas Mass “during the day” (i.e., Masses celebrated after the Mass at Dawn) invite us to contemplate the expression of divine love revealed in the birth of Jesus. They do so via the notions of condescension and self-revelation.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

As we arrive on the cusp of the celebration of Christmas, the readings from the Fourth Sunday of Advent set the stage for the birth of Jesus. The Advent season begins by reminding us that we look to the future with hope as we await the return of the Lord in glory; it concludes by pointing us back in time to the coming of Jesus in the flesh.

Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday, from the first word (in Latin) of the Entrance Antiphon of the Eucharistic Liturgy: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice! Indeed, the Lord is near.” The rose-colored candle that we light and the rose-colored vestments worn by the priest symbolize the joy we are to express. We pray in the Opening Prayer that we “attain the joys of so great a salvation” and celebrate them with “glad rejoicing.”

Second Sunday of Advent

The readings from the Second Sunday of Advent present us with two of the major Advent characters: the prophet Isaiah, the source of several messianic prophecies, and John the Baptist, the one God commissioned “to prepare the way of the Lord” and “make straight his paths.” Indeed, the Gospel reading makes clear that John the Baptist fulfills what Isaiah wrote concerning the preparations for the coming of the Messiah.

First Sunday of Advent

The season of Advent, among its many virtues and purposes, reminds us of where we are on our Christian journey. We are between “comings” of Jesus. Advent points us toward the celebration of the nativity of Jesus at Christmas; it also reminds us that we await the risen Lord’s return in glory. In the meantime, we are invited to open our eyes, ears, and especially our hearts to the ways he comes to us in our daily lives.