When reflecting on Advent, we can speak of three comings of the Lord:
- His historical coming, when He was born in Bethlehem;
- His birth in our hearts;
- His glorious coming at the End of Time.
In this second week of Advent, we will reflect on the second of these: the presence of Jesus in our hearts. Indeed, it is essential that He also dwell in our hearts, for this is how our inner transformation takes place. Letting Jesus into our hearts means giving Him shelter, making room for God’s love in our souls.
We also experience this in our human relationships: when someone occupies a place in our hearts, it means they have become part of our lives, that we are also part of theirs, and that we think of them with love and gratitude. In a way, that person is present in us, even if we are not in constant contact.
This is what happens—and even more intensely—when Jesus comes to dwell in our hearts; when we give Him our hearts, as we sing in a moving German Christmas carol: “I want to give Him my heart; and everything I have, give to Him.”
Entering into a “heart-to-heart relationship” with the Lord—that is, responding to His love—is already to experience a “piece of heaven” here on Earth. It will be consummated in eternity, in the unification of hearts without any disturbance. In fact, that is the goal of our existence: to contemplate Him and live forever in full communion with Him and with all His own.
Now, the topic to be discussed throughout this week will be how this path of unification, which begins here on Earth, is carried out and what steps are necessary. Here we enter the realm of mysticism.
It should be noted that mysticism is not something mysterious, and it would be totally wrong to consider it strange or suspicious. Mysticism is the inner experience of God’s presence in the soul. Many saints have written about this inner journey of the soul. Among the masters of mystical theology are St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales, John Tauler, among others.
These are not speculative writings that move in the shadows; rather, God has given these masters—who, incidentally, also exist in Eastern Christianity—a special light to recognize how the soul is transformed through the growing presence of Christ.
While not all are called to ascend to the supreme “heights of mysticism,” as was the case, for example, with St. Gertrude of Helfta, according to God’s choice and vocation, what is true for all is that God wants to dwell in our hearts and do His work in them. Those who long for silence and solitude, who seek inner recollection and follow the impulse of the heart to cultivate a trusting relationship with Jesus, begin to grasp the essence of life.
And this internalization not only benefits their own soul, but since it is a matter of growing in love and allowing the heart to be transformed, its effects extend to their whole life and positively impact their relationships with others. If we carry Jesus more deeply in our hearts and make room for His love, other people will notice it too. And it will not only manifest itself in outward works, but the whole being of the person begins to be transformed under the wise guidance of the Holy Spirit. We become more like Jesus. This is the essence of love: to become more like the Beloved, to become one with Him…
Therefore, during these days of Advent, we are cordially invited to deepen our relationship with Jesus. I hope that this week’s meditations will help us to do so, and I entrust them particularly to the Virgin Mary, from whom we want to learn to open the doors of our hearts even more to the Lord and to respond to His love.
Meditation on the reading of the day: https://en.elijamission.net/2022/12/04/
