Advent is often described as a season of waiting — but what we wait for is far greater than a single moment in time. The mystery of Advent is not just about preparing for the baby born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. It’s about awakening to the many ways Christ comes — past, present, future, and within the soul of every believer.
The Church teaches us that Advent looks in four directions at once. It remembers the first coming of Christ in history, welcomes His presence among us now, longs for His coming again in glory, and invites Him to dwell more deeply within our hearts.
These four comings are not separate; they are threads of one divine story, seamlessly woven through time and eternity.
1. Christ Came in History — The Humility of the Incarnation
The first coming of Christ is the one we know so well: the night sky over Bethlehem, the Angels’ song, the manger that cradled God Himself. In the fullness of time, the Word who became flesh and entered the world He created.
This coming reveals who God truly is — not distant or indifferent, but humble, merciful, and close. He did not save us from afar; He came into our poverty, our weakness, and our need. The manger is not just a memory; it is a revelation of God’s heart of divine love.
During Advent, we remember that the Incarnation was not an event frozen in the past. It is the ongoing gift of Emmanuel — God with us — who continues to enter the human story with love, breaking into - and bursting forth - from our own life stories.
2. Christ Comes in Mystery — His Presence Among Us Today
The second coming of Christ happens daily, quietly, and sacramentally. He comes to us in the Eucharist, in His Word, and in every moment of grace. He comes in the person of a caring co-worker or neighbor, in the poor who stretch out their hands, and in the peace that settles over our hearts in prayer.
Advent calls us to recognize Him in these daily visitations. Every Mass, every act of mercy, every whisper of conscience, is a Bethlehem moment; a place where heaven touches earth again, for us.
It takes faith to see Him, because this coming is hidden. Yet it is real and constant. Christ does not simply visit; He abides.
He continues to come in mystery, so that we might never forget that God walks with us still, just as He did with the ancient Israelites, with Mary and Joseph, with the Apostles, and all the saints. He comes in miracles, He comes in whispers. He abides with His children, forever.
3. Christ Will Come in Majesty — The Promise of His Return
Advent is not only a time of looking back but also of looking forward. The Church reminds us that we live between two comings, the one that has already happened and the one still to come.
Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, to set right all that is wrong, and to renew creation in perfect love.
This final coming fills the believer with both awe and hope. It reminds us that history is not an endless cycle, but a story with a promised fulfillment.
To live Advent well is to live watchfully — not in fear, but in readiness. The Lord’s return is not meant to terrify us, but to strengthen our longing for heaven, and to remind us that the world’s darkness will not have the final word.
4. Christ Comes Within — The Birth of Grace in the Heart
Perhaps the most personal coming of all is the one that happens within the soul. Each time we open our hearts in faith, repent of sin, and allow His Spirit to guide us, Christ is born anew in us.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux described this interior coming as “a middle Advent,” a spiritual meeting between Christ’s first coming in humility and His final coming in glory. Most often, it happens quietly, like a seed growing in hidden soil, transforming us from within.
This inner Advent is what makes all the others come alive. Christ came once in history; He will come again at the end of time — but He also longs to come now, into this present moment of your life.
Living the Four Comings
To live Advent deeply is to open the heart to all four comings of Christ.
We remember with gratitude the humility of His birth.
We welcome His presence in prayer and sacrament. We hope for His glorious return.
We invite Him to dwell within us more completely.
These are not separate devotions, but one movement of love — God coming to us, and we to Him.
As Advent unfolds, let us not rush ahead to the celebration, but rest in the mystery of His nearness.
Christ has come. Christ comes still. Christ will come again. And even now, if you are quiet and willing, He is coming within you.
