Advent – a time for the world to slow down

Change what needs to be changed to let Christ be born in us

- CNS photo Advent, which begins this year on Dec. 2, can be an opportunity to unclutter our lives.

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

Advent - the busiest time for the consumer world - should be a period of cleansing and slowing down for Christians, says Father Michael Crosby.

During Advent "we must clean house and change whatever needs to be changed to allow the Christ to be born in us," the priest said.

That may involve reading the Scriptures more, deepening our reflective life, becoming more Christ-like in our relationships and withdrawing from violence.

"(During Advent) we have to be more intentional about what we've got to do to let Christ be born in us."

Crosby, a 67-year-old Capuchin Franciscan from Milwaukee and an author and speaker on biblical spirituality, gave an Advent retreat at Providence Renewal Centre Nov. 16-18 focusing on the Gospel of Matthew and St. John the Baptist.

In our society, the period before Christmas is typically cluttered with activities and consumer buying. "So we have to be more intentional about being grounded some place else," he said in an interview before the retreat.

"We have to read the Scriptures more, go back and think 'How do I get my house in order; how do I get less cluttered?"

'Do not be anxious'

During Advent we get anxious about the parties, eating and drinking, what we are going to wear.

"But Jesus says in Matthew, 'Do not be anxious about what you are going to eat, what you are going to drink, what you are going to wear,'" Crosby pointed out.

"He is not saying forget about those things; he's saying, 'Seek first the kingdom of God. Don't be superficial. Don't let the word fall on rocky ground. Make room in your house for that word. Let the Scriptures be fulfilled in you own life.'"

Against violence

Any violence toward others or God's creation brings violence upon ourselves, Crosby said. When one comes to understand the connectedness of everyone and everything, one has to be against everything that does violence.

When Joseph, the father of Jesus, learned that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there and withdrew to the region of Galilee, thus saving Jesus and the whole family.

- Fr. Michael Crosby

In face of the overwhelming violence and conflict, Joseph made a strategic decision - he withdrew "and I think that is a wonderful pattern for our life," Crosby said. "We've got to be mindful of the violence around us, find ways of withdrawing from it so that Scripture might be fulfilled in us and the Christ might be born in us."

Withdrawal, Crosby continued, brings us to prayer, contemplation and rejection of the violence that seeks to draw us in.

"In the withdrawal something happens where God's word - the Scriptures - gives you the power not to necessarily change the destructive thing but to deal with it another way."

During Advent we must ask ourselves, "What do we need to do to change our house for him to come alive in our lives, in our hearts; what ground do I need to cultivate to let the Christ be born me," Crosby said.

"For me, it is slowing down. It's becoming still, being more mindful of what am doing, even being more connected to the food in different ways."

Crosby has also taken the vow of non-violence from Pax Christi, one of whose points is to be non-violent in word and tongue.

"I took it because I find I can be very critical rather than compassionate in my judgments," he noted. "Now I try to be less negative in the way I talk about people and events. That's a concrete thing that I do."

Taking that vow is a concrete thing others can do as well during Advent, the priest said. "We must withdraw from violence and it isn't just violence out in the world; it is the violence in the way I didn't talk to you this morning when we got up, the way I gave you a dirty look - the violence we do to each other."

When Crosby is not writing or lecturing, he is dealing with big corporations, trying to make them more socially responsible.

He has long been a Catholic leader in the field of socially responsible investing. His 20 books include Rethinking Celibacy, Reclaiming the Church and Can Religious Life Be Prophetic?

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