Every year on the First Sunday of Advent we begin again our preparations for the coming of the Lord Jesus. On this Sunday in 1568, St. Teresa notes in the Book of Her Foundations that the first foundation of the Discalced Carmelite friars took place in Duruelo, Spain:

On the First or Second Sunday of Advent (I don’t remember which of these Sundays it was) [it was, in fact, the First Sunday of Advent], in the year 1568, the first Mass was said in that little stable of Bethlehem, for it doesn’t seem to me the house was any better. (Foundations 14.6)

Beginnings can be very difficult, both in liturgical seasons and in the circumstances of life. Our two founding friars, Fray Anthony of Jesus and Fray John of the Cross, experienced both of these types of beginnings in their new life as Discalced Carmelites that began on the First Sunday of Advent. Their monastery was very small and poor. Reflecting on the humble conditions of this house, St. Teresa writes:

We will see that the less we have here below, the more we will enjoy in eternity, where the dwelling places will be in conformity with the love with which we have imitated the life of our good Jesus. If we say that these are the beginning steps in order to renew the rule of the Virgin, His Mother, our Lady and Patroness, let us not be offensive to her or to our holy fathers of the past as to fail to live as they did. Since, because of our weakness, we cannot do so in every way, in matters that are not essential for sustaining life, we must proceed very carefully. For it is all a matter of but a little effort, and that becomes delightful, as was the case with these two Fathers. And once we are determined to undergo this effort, the difficulty passes, for all the pain is but a little in the beginning. (Foundations 14.5)

These intrepid priests likely experienced the rising up of many questions concerning the endeavor of becoming St. Teresa’s friars. Their steps were quickened by Our Holy Mother’s encouragement. But their first months in Duruelo were not without stumbling blocks. They lacked both warmth and water which challenged their livelihood. But those who walk with God are never thirsty for very long:

I already know, my Lord, that out of Your goodness You will give it. You Yourself say so; Your words cannot fail. . . . You’ve come into the world as a remedy for needs such as these. Begin, Lord! Your compassion must be shown in the most difficult situations. (Soliloquy 9)

We know from St. Teresa that new beginnings and new commands come with graces from God. After all, hers is a spirituality of getting started. Take, for example, her struggle when beginning to write her masterpiece, The Interior Castle:

Not many things that I have been ordered to do under obedience have been as difficult for me as is this present task of writing about prayer. . . . But knowing that the strength given by obedience usually lessens the difficulty of things that seem impossible, I resolved to carry out the task very willingly, even though my human nature seems greatly distressed. . . . May He, in whose mercy I trust and who has helped me in other more difficult things so as to favor me, do this work for me. (Interior Castle Prol.1)

When we are asked to begin a difficult task, we must begin with confidence. What by all appearances we lack in our ability or resources to complete what’s been asked of us, we gain by our confidence in depending completely on God that his commands are accompanied by all that we need to begin.

The First Sunday of Advent is the new beginning that is now before us. We inaugurate a new year with the anticipation of the coming of our great King. The Gospel this Sunday speaks of the difficult signs that will begin the coming of the Kingdom of God: “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:26). However, as heaven shakes with the coming of the Lord Jesus, those who love him, who share a life of prayer in relationship with him, have already begun their preparations for his arrival. 

When we go to prayer, what are we doing besides beginning a length of time reserved for being ready for the Lord? In our relationship with Him, haven’t we already received many signs of the Lord’s coming to us? Having received the signs, we turn to prayer so that the soul “may stand erect and raise its head” (Luke 21:28) ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus’s warning that our “hearts not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life” (Luke 21:34) reminds us of the power of prayer to conquer all anxiety. With all the carousing and noise around us, friendship with Jesus through prayer is essential to maintain the vigilance we must endeavor to commence by our obedience to the Lord’s command to stay and wait for the signs of his arrival.

St. Teresa tells us that in prayer we need not wait long for these signs to appear:

As though by signs, He gives us a clear foretaste of what will be given to those He brings to His kingdom. And to those to whom He gives here below the kingdom we ask for, He gives pledges so that through these they may have great hope of going to enjoy perpetually what here on earth is given only in sips. (Way of Perfection 30.6)

In their saying “Our Father” just once a whole hour passes. They are so close that they see they are understanding as though through signs. They are within the palace, near the King, and they see that He is beginning to give them here His kingdom. (Way of Perfection 31.3)

So near to the King, already beginning to dwell in his kingdom, the Lord gives us the advanced signs needed so that we are not caught by surprise when our great King begins his assault:

Now then, Good Master, teach us how to live without any sudden assault in so dangerous a war. What we can have, daughters, and what His Majesty gave us are love and fear. Love will quicken our steps; fear will make us watch our steps to avoid falling along the way. . . . You will ask me how you can tell if you have these two virtues which are so great . . . but reflect, Sisters, that there are some signs that even the blind, it seems, see. They are manifest signs, though you may not want to recognize them. They cry out loudly, for not many possess them perfectly; and hence these signs are more obvious. Love and fear of God: what more could you ask for! They are like two fortified castles from which one can wage war on the world and the devils. (Way of Perfection 40.1–2)

And so, with St. Teresa, let us begin the difficult work of Advent having received from our Lord in prayer the advanced signs of love and fear of the Lord. We have been given what we need to quicken our steps and keep us from falling along the way.