I once heard a priest’s meditation on the “third coming of Christ.” We as a Church know of two: the first was more than 2,000 years ago when God became man; the second will be at Christ’s glorious return. In neither of these instances is our consent or opinion necessary; they are decisions made by God from all eternity.

The first time, Jesus came to be the way, the truth and the life. The second, he will come to be the judge at the end of time, the moment when our resurrection of body and soul into eternal life in the fullness of love will begin. When will it happen? No one knows but the Father.

But there is a third instance of his coming, and it takes place between the other two — it is Jesus entering into our hearts. It is the arrival in which we are asked for our personal consent, opinion and will. This coming has a specific and precise promise: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (Jn 14:23). This “we will come” is a promise from the Lord God who fully fulfills his word.

Becoming God’s dwelling place is an invitation we can accept or reject, as Mary was able to choose at the Incarnation. The Lord is knocking at our door and waiting for us to open ourselves to his presence. So during Advent, the most beautiful thing is that we have the perfect moment of preparation for accepting God’s personal entrance into our hearts.

The graces received by those who lived at the historical moment when Jesus was born are the same graces we can receive every Christmas. It is the same thing that happens in every Eucharist: it is not a mere remembrance of Christ’s self-giving, it is a bloodless renewal of his sacrifice for us. 

But if we don’t open the door to our hearts, God won’t enter because he respects the sacred gift of freedom he gave us. We hold the key to our hearts, no one else. The only thing God cannot force is a heart; God is Lord of everything except our freedom, that he willed to give us, unless we freely allow him to be so.

We are about to begin Advent on Nov. 30. It is the season when we remember the longing of the people of Israel before the arrival of the Messiah, singing and sighing for the coming of the Savior. Those who are already converted, those in the process, those who have doubts — we can all open our hearts and recite as the people of Israel did: “God, come to me quickly! You are my help and deliverer. LORD, do not delay!” (Ps 70:6). 

Opening our hearts to Christ’s third coming allows us to savor in advance the gifts and graces we will receive at Christ’s second coming during his parousia (in Greek παρουσία, meaning arrival, coming or presence). Let us allow Christ to be born in our hearts so that he may dwell within us together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Let us remember that Christ also knocks at our door with the hands of our brothers and sisters in need, the sick and the lonely. The voice of those who suffer is the voice of Christ. Let us not turn a deaf ear and a hardened heart but open our doors to ease the pain of Christ reflected in our brothers and sisters. Let us prepare our interior as we would prepare our home for the arrival of the best of guests. Let us welcome the guest of our soul, our Creator, Christ our savior. This is the best way to prepare for this Christmas and for this new year that we are beginning.