Personal Reflection by: Father Venâncio da Costa Pereira, SJ
The word ‘advent’ comes from the Latin verb advenire, meaning “to come”. It refers to something that will happen in the future or someone who will arrive. In this sense, Advent can also be understood as a time of waiting, waiting for something new to unfold in our human lives, waiting with hope and anticipation. For Christians, this waiting centers on the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of humanity. Jesus, the Son of God, will come and be born into our world.
We are ending the Jubilee Year of Hope, proclaimed by Pope Francis in December 2024 and ending on January 6, 2026, when the Catholic Church will celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, the feast of God’s Revelation to the world and humanity. All of this is truly interconnected. It is a special grace the Church has received throughout 2025 from our all loving and all compassionate Father.
For a Jesuit who has undergone and experienced the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, Advent is a time when a Jesuit reflects upon the mysteries of the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises. A Jesuit is invited to enter deeply into the mystery of the Incarnation of God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ, our King and Savior. During this Advent season, a Jesuit reflects on how to imitate Jesus, in simplicity, transparency of life, and dependence on God. A Jesuit is called to live the spirit of Advent continuously, which means that “in life we must always be ready” to welcome Jesus, and to carry out the will of the Father in heaven, as Jesus himself did.
Therefore, a Jesuit is called to bear clear and concrete witness to the world and to others about how to incarnate the Advent experience. Advent is a time when all those who are willing to accept Jesus as their “all” in life must truly enter into the incarnation of Jesus himself. Jesus, the Son of God, truly chose to come down from heaven; to be born, to live, and ultimately to die in the real form of our humanity. We are also invited to come down from “our worldly and selfish tendencies” to become persons of sincere, genuine simplicity and humility, not a simplicity and humility that is manipulative and full of deceit. Therefore, the best way to incarnate Advent is to cultivate a spirit of true simplicity and humility.
To free ourselves from worldly and selfish tendencies, in celebrating Advent, especially in this holy year of the Jubilee of Hope, we all truly need “a spirit filled with hope, a hope to return to the Father’s house, through and in Jesus, the Messiah.” Advent invites us to metanoia: a total, radical, and sincere conversion. This conversion is a sign of our need for reconciliation; with ourselves, with one another, and with God.
As Pope Francis once said, God never tires of forgiving us; it is we humans who grow tired of asking for forgiveness, often because we give up, lose hope, or lack patience. Therefore, to celebrate Advent well, let us allow ourselves to be touched anew by God’s mercy, so that we may be strengthened by His love, and by His infinite compassion. We must always remember that our God is a God of true love. Advent in this Jubilee of Year of Hope 2025, reminds us that God is always present in our hearts when we truly love, forgive, and support one another. In turn, we are all present in God’s heart. This “intimacy in one another’s hearts” is what keeps us alive, giving us the strength to continue living this life. Our life is always in God; without God, life loses its meaning. Advent restores the meaning of life by reminding us that God comes to us because He loves us. He lives with us, giving our lives purpose and guiding us ultimately back to Him.
Preparing for Advent is not easy, especially in today’s secular world. With the pull of worldly passions and consumerism, we often lose our sense of direction and purpose in celebrating Advent itself. This reflects a lack of awareness of the significance of our Catholic Faith and of the importance of Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas. Many temptations and challenges, both internal and external, distract us. We are easily drawn to “material pleasures” rather than pursuing the profound meaning of Advent found in the person of Jesus. The secular world offers many alternatives that obscure the true meaning of celebrating Advent. In our human experience, we often become “orphans” or even “slaves” to the influence of the secular world.
Advent, during the Jubilee of Hope 2025, invites us all to return with hope, to the right path, a path filled with the light of faith, in the sincerity of love and the steadfast hope in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of humankind. Let us encourage one another to return to the Father’s house with hearts full of hope, trusting that the Son of God will be born anew among us.
Taibessi, December 3, 2025,
On the Feast of Saint Francis Xavier.
Father Venâncio da Costa Pereira, S.J.