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"I think it meet … to stir you up by putting you in remembrance."

(2 Pet. i. 13).

1st. Prelude. Paul writing to Timothy: "Stir up the grace of God which is in thee" (2 Tim. i. 6).

2nd. Prelude. Grace to stir myself up this Advent.

On the Sunday before Advent and nine times during the Advent Masses, the Church puts on the lips of her children this prayer: Stir up, O Lord. Let us try in this Meditation to catch her spirit which runs all through the Advent season and see what it is that she wants God to stir up.

Point I. His own Might

We ask Him during Advent to stir up His might for four different reasons.

(1) To protect and deliver us. "Stir up Thy might, we beseech Thee O Lord and come: that by Thy protection we may deserve to be delivered from the threatening dangers of our sins and by Thy deliverance be saved." (The "Collect" for Advent Sunday.)

We ask Him to show His might by protecting us from dangers and by delivering us from sin. We want to spend a good Advent, we want to prepare well for His Coming, then there rise up before us the "threatening dangers of our sins" – those old temptations that are sure to come back again as soon as we begin to put forth fresh effort. Are we to be discouraged, to dread them, to say we are sure to fall again, and thus give the enemy a hold over us? No, but to believe that our God Who is coming will protect us in the day of battle, that though to humiliate and to strengthen us, He may still permit the temptations, yet He will Himself be our shield and buckler, and will deliver us if we trust in His strength and not in our own – "Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come to protect and deliver."

(2) To free us from adversity. "Stir up Thy power, we beseech Thee O Lord and come, that they who confide in Thy mercy may be more speedily freed from all adversity" (The "Collect" for Friday in Ember week).

The adversity from which the Church prays to be freed here is probably the same as she continually teaches us to pray for deliverance from in her Litanies: war, pestilence, famine, floods, earthquakes – all things which damage the peace of nations and the produce of the earth, great national disasters. From all such the world will never be free till the Advent of her Lord, till God stirs up His power and comes to save it. Meanwhile for our consolation we can remember that it is when God's judgments are in the earth that the nations learn justice (Isaias xxvi. 9). Adversity is a great teacher and trainer for Heaven, and as we advance in the spiritual life we see more and more that many things which are adversity to the body are prosperity to the soul. We should naturally like to be freed from the adversity of sickness, poverty, failure, loss of friends, of health and strength, but all these adversities have their work to do. "These are they who came out of great tribulation," and it is probable that but for the tribulation many would never "have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Apoc. vii. 14). Let us strive to be amongst those who trust Him, who confide in His mercy, who believe that He knows what is best for them, and who gladly let Him arrange all for them. He will stir up His power and speedily free them one day, but it will not be till the flail of adversity has done its work and the corn is ready to be garnered in the heavenly barns.

(3) To save us. "Stir up Thy might O Lord and come to save us."

In the Masses for the third week, that is Ember week, the prayer occurs five times, twice in the Mass for the third Sunday and three times in that for Ember Saturday. The time of the birth of the Saviour is drawing nearer, and the Church is beginning to be importunate. Stir up Thy might; for though He is coming as a little helpless infant, He is God "mighty to save."

(4) To accelerate His Coming. "Stir up Thy might, we beseech Thee O Lord and come; and succour us with great power, that by the help of Thy grace, the indulgence of Thy mercy may accelerate what our sins impede." (The "Collect" for the 4th. Sunday of Advent).

We ask Him to stir up His might in coming. His Advents show His Omnipotence. Only a God could come to this world to save it, only a God could come to a soul and raise it to the supernatural state. These are miracles and we ask Him to stir up His might to come and work them. It is our sins that hold Him back and hinder His work both in our own souls and in the world. We want them to do so no more and so we ask for His succour and indulgence.

Point II. Our Wills

"Stir up the wills of Thy faithful, O Lord, we beseech Thee; that earnestly seeking after the fruit of good works, they may receive more abundant helps from Thy mercy." (The "Collect" for the Sunday before Advent).

Here we pray for something which it is far more difficult to "stir up" – our own wills. We are not sufficiently in earnest; the might and the mercy of God are there waiting to help us, but we have not the energy nor the desire to receive them. We weaken our wills by yielding to temptation, by deliberately going into occasions of sin, by allowing ourselves to be careless about rules and resolutions, by letting things drift and contenting ourselves with a low standard. Advent is a time to rectify all this, to pull ourselves up and make a fresh start, and if we are in earnest, we shall gladly join in the prayer: "Stir up the wills of Thy faithful, O Lord," stir up my will. It is not a prayer to be said lightly for it means much – a will stirred up to "seek after the fruit of good works" means constant and continued effort; it means mortification, suffering, death to self; it means a determination to do or suffer anything rather than run the least risk of committing the least sin; it means constant unremitting attention to little things – to the smallest duties, the least prickings of conscience; it means hard work. Dare I say this prayer? If I am really anxious for "the fruit of good works," I shall dare anything. Fruit is impossible without hard work either in the natural or the spiritual world.

"Who is sufficient for these things?" Certainly I am not, but the consolation is that the work is co-operative. As soon as I pray: Stir up my will, O God, because I want to bring forth fruit to Thy glory; He will be there giving me "more abundant helps" from His mercy. God does not expect me to work alone, nor to suffer alone, nor to make efforts alone. What He wants is a good will. He is coming "to men of good will," and nothing can prove that I am one of them, better than a fervent prayer that my will may be stirred up, cost what it may. The "abundant helps" will immediately be at my service; and when it seems sometimes as if, in spite of all my efforts, the day is going to be lost, I will hold on still, remembering that the help is "more abundant" when the need is greater. The stores of His mercy are infinite and He ever gives more to the generous soul.

Point III. Our Hearts

"Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thy only-begotten Son: that by His Coming we may be worthy to serve Thee with purified minds." (The "Collect" for the 2^nd Sunday of Advent).

Here lies the secret; if our hearts are stirred up there will be little difficulty about our wills. If I love, I shall gladly make efforts, no trouble will be too much, no work too exacting, no sacrifice too great, no mortification too hard. "If you love Me, keep My commandments." My will is to be stirred up to seek, but my heart is to be stirred up to prepare. It is my King Who is coming, He Who has a right to my heart, and He is quite sure to pass by my way, for to win my heart and make it all His own is one of the special reasons of His Coming. No pains, no cost shall be spared in my preparation; my heart shall be decorated with the flowers that I know He loves and hung with banners which shall speak of my gratitude for all He has done. This is the preparation of the heart – the preparation of love; and it will not stop at my own heart, for if I really love my King I shall take an interest in all the work that He is coming to do; I shall try to prepare His way for Him in the hearts of others; I shall let them know that Jesus of Nazareth is going to pass by. Perhaps I shall have no opportunity of speaking about His visit, but the careful preparations I am making will not go unnoticed – each thing that I do out of love to Him will in some way or another spread His Kingdom in the hearts of men.

Colloquy. With my King Who is coming.

Resolution. To do something to-day in preparation.

Spiritual Bouquet. "Stir up!"