In his novel, “The Screwtape Letters,” C.S. Lewis recounts the advice of a wise, old demon, Screwtape, to his young, inexperienced nephew, Wormwood, about how to tempt a certain unnamed “patient” and win him over to Satan. So he asks Wormwood what his thoughts are about how he might proceed.
Wormwood begins, “Tell the patient there is no God.”
“Oh, no,” Screwtape says. “That’s much too big.”
He continues, “So tell him there’s no such thing as hell.”
“Also too big,” Screwtape replies.
His nephew goes on, “Then how about telling the patient he’s got plenty of time to put his house in order?”
“Ah, now you’re on the right track,” Screwtape says approvingly. “That plays on the human tendency to procrastinate. It’s nothing big, but it can yield big results in the long run.”
So Screwtape advises Wormwood to begin working on evil on a small scale. Forget the big stuff for now. That will come later when the patient is duly conditioned.
The liturgical season of Advent has something quite different to say to us than the lie Wormwood proposes to put in the mind of his patient. The fact is, we do not have unlimited time until judgment day; so it is best to be prepared.
Advent is a tough sell. Always has been. First of all, it is a very short liturgical season, usually between three and four weeks long. Second, competition with the preparation and celebration of secular Christmas is overwhelming.
So many voices vie for our attention in Advent – voices of materialism, consumerism and hedonism. In fact, there is no such thing as Advent in the world outside the Church. The voice of Advent has a hard time breaking through to us. We have to struggle and even consciously decide if we wish to hear it.
One way to make such a decision is to reflect prayerfully on the readings for Mass during Advent. Generally speaking, we will discover there are a number of powerful voices that make an urgent appeal to us during the season. And the stage is set at the Mass for the first Sunday of Advent.
The voice of Isaiah, who is the premier prophet of Advent, invites us to consider what heaven is like so that we might more ardently desire to go there. He paints it as the house of God on the highest of mountains to which people of every nation stream in order to enjoy eternal peace.
The voice of the Apostle Paul cries out that it is time to wake up because the day of our salvation is fast approaching. We need to be prepared by casting off “works of darkness” (carnal desires) and putting on the “armor of light” (virtuous conduct).
The most important Advent voice, of course, is the voice of Jesus. It is not the cry of an infant calling us to commemorate the human birth of the Son of God, the first Christmas, 2,000 years ago. It is rather an urgent plea of the adult Jesus, beckoning us to prepare for the second Christmas, his coming in glory and majesty at the end of time. He advises us to be watchful and ready since he will come like a thief in the night when we least expect him. That, of course, is the real Christmas that Advent calls us to prepare for.
The Church considers preparation for second Christmas so crucial that we pray for it at each and every Mass. Immediately after the Our Father the priest prays: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may always be free from sin and safe from all distress, as WE AWAIT THE BLESSED HOPE AND THE COMING OF OUR SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.
This Advent, let us not fall into Screwtape’s trap of procrastination. Instead, let us be mindful to tune out secular distractions and prepare our hearts for Christ’s return.
Father Edward Kolla is a retired priest of the Diocese.
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