This devotional was originally published by Radio CEPAD and has has been translated for our English-speaking audience.

Advent is the time we dedicate, as Christians, to reflect on the birth of our older brother, Jesus. In Advent, we come together four Sundays before Christmas to talk about this important time in our lives. Christ comes to rescue us from hate, sin, commerce, attachment, hopelessness. Christ comes to accompany us in difficult moments and in joyful moments. What we celebrate is the great love of God, who manifested in the birth of our friend Jesus. Far, very far, are the traps, alienations, consumption; all of the things that dehumanize us and makes us sin brother against brother.

We hope that through communion, while we call for the world to live in peace, we can live in harmony with one another without caring about creeds, skin color, or ideology. We sing the song that the prophets shouted, it’s a new song of justice and love.

We’re excited because we have hope through light. For this hope, we light a candle every Sunday symbolizing the desire that this light would illuminate the entire world.

God is with us, even when there are moments when we lose hope. But, as Pedro Casaldáliga says, “You have to know to wait for God. And look that there are many who get tired of waiting, because life has been very hard and the powerful always squash other people. Advent is a good time to learn to wait for God.” God comes to us and sits at the table to share faith and a better future for humanity.