Vatican City: The Vatican’s annual Advent reflections began on Friday morning in the Paul VI Hall, with Pope Leo XIV present as Father Roberto Pasolini, the Preacher of the Papal Household, delivered the first in a series of three meditations preparing the Church for Christmas. This opening reflection, titled “The Parousia of the Lord: An Expectation Without Hesitation,” centered on the meaning of Christian hope at the close of the Jubilee of Hope.
Fr. Pasolini opened with a reminder that Christians are not “lost wayfarers” wandering without direction, but “sentinels who, even in the world’s darkness, hold firm the certainty” that Christ’s light will ultimately shine upon every person. Advent, he said, is the season when the Church rekindles hope by contemplating both the Nativity and the promised return of Christ at the end of time.
This dual focus calls the faithful to “wait and hasten the coming of the Lord with calm, active vigilance,” he emphasized.
The preacher reflected on the biblical term Parousia used repeatedly in Matthew 24 highlighting its dual meaning: Christ’s presence now and His future coming. He drew a parallel with the days of Noah, when society continued in ordinary life unaware of the approaching flood, while Noah alone prepared the ark of salvation.
This ancient story, he said, invites modern Christians to recognize how rapidly the world is changing and to understand the Church’s mission as a sacrament of salvation amid shifting cultural and technological landscapes.
Fr. Pasolini lamented that peace remains elusive in many regions so long as “deep injustices and old wounds” remain unhealed. In the West, meanwhile, transcendence is being overshadowed by the “idols of efficiency, wealth, and technological power.”
He warned that the rapid advance of artificial intelligence intensifies the illusion of a “limitless humanity without need of God.”
While acknowledging humanity’s vulnerability, the preacher insisted that God continues to move history toward salvation. Christians must rediscover the prophetic sensitivity given at Baptism and learn again to recognize God’s grace a grace that “raises human life above sin’s weight and liberates it from the fear of death.”
He reminded ministers of the Church to guard against spiritual complacency, noting that every generation must rediscover “the mystery of a God who stands before His creation with unwavering trust.”
Reflecting on the flood narrative, Fr. Pasolini stressed that humanity cannot overcome its own brokenness merely through change or progress. It requires salvation: “Evil must not simply be forgiven; it must be erased so that life may flourish in truth and beauty.”
He contrasted this divine “erasing” with the destructive tendencies of today’s cancel culture. In daily life, he observed, deleting mistakes, files, or stains is normal and often necessary; likewise, spiritual renewal requires opening oneself to God’s healing, starting from personal fragility.
The preacher affirmed that life can flourish only when God is restored to the center of human existence. Noah, who recognized God’s grace, became the foundation for a renewed humanity.
“The flood,” Fr. Pasolini explained, “was not simple destruction but a painful passage of re-creation a temporary unmaking of the world so that God’s original design for life could be preserved.”
Using the powerful image of God placing His bow in the clouds as a covenant of peace, the preacher said humanity remains far from imitating God’s self-restraint. The world continues to be “torn by brutal and unending conflicts,” leaving countless people vulnerable and unprotected.
Thus, he praised those who, despite having power, choose not to harm others, understanding that only such restraint builds “a true and lasting human alliance.”
Fr. Pasolini warned that today’s Christians face two major temptations:
1. Forgetting their need for salvation, and
2. Trying to win approval by softening the radical nature of the Gospel.
Instead, believers are called to embrace the joy and challenge of following Christ without compromise, staying awake with the posture of “sentinels at the world’s frontier,” as Thomas Merton described. Advent, he concluded, is not a passive waiting but a season to sow goodness, to watch, and to remain ready for the Lord’s return whenever it may come.