Carmelite Thoughts: “ADVENT: AN INFLOW OF GOD”
The word ‘advent’ means ‘coming’. It is a time to celebrate God’s coming into our lives. Prayer is one of the many ways God comes to us. St. John of the Cross speaks of prayer as a kind of advent when he says: ‘contemplation is nothing else than a secret and peaceful and loving inflow of God, which, if not impeded, fires the soul in the spirit of love’ (1DN 10:6). It is a ‘peaceful’ inflow, like the coming of Christ into the world with his message of peace. It was his first gift: ‘Peace to those who enjoy God’s favour’ (Lk 2:14); it was also his last gift: ‘Peace be with you’ (Jn 20:19.21). It is a ‘loving’ inflow, like the coming of the Word made flesh: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’ (Jn 3:16); and a ‘secret’ inflow revealed at his birth only to those who see with faith, ‘to all who received him, who believed in his name’ (Jn 1:12). No wonder the Church invites us repeatedly to pray during Advent in preparation for Christ’s coming at Christmas.
In prayer, we expose ourselves to the reality of a self-communicating God of love. We make space for him to enter. There must be no obstacle. He will invade and take over in our lives. God is always knocking at the door of the human heart: ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me’ (Rev 3:20). This door can be opened only from the inside. May we open our hearts, to receive the inflow of God.