Advent, Purgatory, and the Light of Christ

It’s hard to believe another new year is upon us.  The older we get, the faster the years seem to go by, perhaps because each successive year is a smaller percentage of our lifetime.  When you’re 8 years old, a year is more than 12% of your entire life, but at 66, it’s only 1.5%.  And the older we get, the more aware we become of our mortality and the brevity of life, in contrast to the vastness of eternity.  Looking back over the years, it is increasingly apparent that life is loaded with metaphors that seem to be pointing us in the direction of eternal truths which we cannot quite grasp.  Perhaps these truths are too much for us to comprehend because they are so far beyond our experience and understanding of life.  As St. Paul said to the Corinthians:

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”   (1 Cor 13:12-13)

It is as if our eyes cannot see clearly, the depth and richness of life in all its complexity and fullness.  Nor can we comprehend the overwhelming power and majesty of God’s love.  When Jesus began His public ministry, one of the first things He said, was a quote from the prophet Isaiah:

“The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”  (Matt 4:16)

Jesus was describing Himself as this great light which we now refer to as “The Light of the World.”  The Light of Christ dispels darkness, and enables us to see the truth of God’s love and creation.  But there is only so much we can comprehend and withstand.  It’s often easier to live in self-imposed darkness, than to face the light of truth.   Sin dims our perception of these truths when we choose selfishly, or take the easier path of avoiding the responsibilities of love when it requires sacrifice. 

The date for Christmas was established to coincide with the pagan holiday of the Winter solstice and the lengthening of daytime with more light.  Advent is that special time of the year when we are called to prepare not only for the celebration of Christmas, but to prepare ourselves to receive the Light of Christ, both now and at the end of our earthly lives.  This preparation is meant to help us become more receptive to the Light of Christ and God’s truth about our lives.  Are we mere mortals, little more than thinking animals?  Or were we created for something much greater which our human experience and intellect cannot fully comprehend?   Of course the “good news” of the gospel as revealed by Jesus Himself, is that the latter is the real truth.   Our salvation consists of the Light of Christ coming into the world to reveal the truth of God’s love, a truth so outrageous that it seems too good to be true:  God created us to live with Him for all eternity, embraced in love that so far exceeds our human experience that we cannot possibly imagine its depth and richness.  If fact, we are so ill-prepared for life in the Presence of God, that upon our death, we are likely to experience the pain of facing all this truth at once. 

This brings me to a brief discussion about Purgatory.  As children, we were taught that we would most likely have to spend some time in this interim step or place, paying for our sinfulness.  It’s a childish notion, given that there is no time outside human life, as far as we know.  When I taught RCIA, I described purgatory not as a place, but as an experience of being “purged” of our sinfulness when we come face to face with God.  Words may not be able to express this painful experience, but it might be a combination of embarrassment and sorrow for our sins, regret at the pain we may have caused others, and the pain of letting go of our sinful attitudes toward ourselves, others, and God Himself.  The main point is that we could not possibly bear to live in God’s Presence with these human flaws that separate us from the love of God. 

Recently, I read a great little article about how purgatory might be likened to a person who obtains sight as an adult, after being born blind.  People who have actually experienced this, report that it is an unbearably painful experience for which they are completely unprepared.  As it turns out, the human brain has to be completely retrained to comprehend light and vision, after a lifetime of blindness.  Perhaps this is what death will be like.  When we come face to face with God we will be completely unprepared for the Light of Truth of God’s love.   Human love and the capacity to love may be so far short of God’s love that we have to completely recondition our understanding of life when faced with the experience of the love of God in all its fullness.  In one of life’s great metaphors, human life may be similar to the gestation period of an infant, living in the darkness of the womb, completely unprepared for life.  Our temporal lives may well be nothing more than the gestation period for eternal life.

In the meanwhile however, we live in a culture that celebrates the imperial autonomous self; in a modern world that detaches sex from love and responsibility; with an ethos of immediate gratification and intergenerational irresponsibility.  Advent is about overcoming all this and dispelling the darkness of sin, by taming our ego and adopting instead, a culture of life that embraces faith, hope and love.  When personal freedom trumps love and responsibility, we diminish ourselves and our culture.  The word ego has been described as an acronym for “Edging God Out.”  Advent is a reminder that there is more to life than what popular culture perceives.  Open your heart and soul to the Light of Christ this Advent and look beyond the secular holiday to “see the great Light” of God’s amazing, transformative love, and His promise of our salvation for all eternity.  Prepare yourself and your family to accept and receive this greatest of all gifts, now and for all eternity.