Br ULISE ZARZA, ofm Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord give you His peace. Here we are living this strong time, the Holy Time of Advent, in which we are waiting for the Lord. From this waiting springs hope, trust in His coming and above all joy, but why? Because we are going to meet the Lord but He is also coming toward us. So on this occasion we will use a sermon attributed to Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers in the fourth century, who gave this homily to explain how we should wait for the Lord in this time. For Hilary it is important to ask this question: who am I waiting for? Who am I expecting? For if we wait for the Lord we will not be confused in our waiting, for the Lord who comes does not disappoint. And then resorting to the image of treasure referring to the Lord, the Bishop of Poitiers asks himself, "where is my treasure?" and then exhorts his faithful by saying thus, "Let your hearts therefore follow their treasures. Let your thoughts be fixed above and your waiting be suspended to God." Here we are to wait for the Lord, to keep our hearts suspended in God, waiting for the coming Lord. According to Hilary, the Lord is the awaited of the Gentiles and reading the Old Testament he says that our fathers, the prophets, the ancient fathers were not disappointed in their waiting because the Lord came, became incarnate and they recognized Him in the humility of the flesh of our humanity. Hilary argues that the Church also waited for the first Advent of the Lord with all the righteous of the Old Testament and in the same way, even today, it waits for the second coming of the Lord in glory, so this coming of the New Alliance. For Hilary, the Lord is the expected of the nations, in fact all the righteous of the Old Testament, the prophets waited for Him and were not disappointed in their expectation. In fact, the Lord came: the first time He became incarnate and was recognized in the humility of the flesh. So here too the bishop of Poiters argues that the Church awaited the first Advent of the Lord with the righteous of the Old Testament and in the same way, even today, the Church awaits the second coming of the Lord in glory. And, continues Hilary, "just as the Church was certain that she had paid the price of redemption with the first, so now she is certain that the second will bring her the fruit of remuneration. Suspended by this expectation and hope above earthly things, the Church aspires with joy equal to ardor to eternal goods." Therefore, the Church aspires, looks forward to this coming of the Lord Jesus in glory and is certain that she will not be disappointed in this expectation, just as the ancient fathers were not disappointed when the Lord first came. In the same way, the individual Christian, that is, each of us, is also called to set our eyes on the coming Lord. And at this point Hilary invites us to feed our prayer with some Old Testament passages that he himself takes care to quote. And speaking to himself he takes comfort in these Words: "My truth is the Lord. Said my soul, Behold, I will wait for him: for the Lord is good to those who hope in Him. For the soul that seeks Him it is good to wait in silence for God's salvation. Lord, verily my soul faileth, in waiting for thy salvation, but I abound in hope in Thy Word." These are all Old Testament passages that Hilary uses to nourish his prayer in this time of the Holy One of Advent, a time when we are called to wait on the Lord. This waiting for the Church may certainly be long but it does not diminish our confidence in the coming of the Lord. In fact, Hilary goes on to say, "the Church, though weary of seeing the fulfillment of her desire delayed, remains in full confidence because of the promise. Hoping in God and even overflowing with hope." But what is this opportune time when the Lord will come? Hilary answers by saying, "the one in which the number of our brothers will be complete, the one in which the time of mercy granted for penance will be exhausted." Dear brothers, dear sisters, Hilary helps us at this time to live intensely this Advent season with the confidence that certainly the Lord will come. With hope and above all with joy, because we are going to meet the Lord who loves us, the Lord who is waiting for us, the Lord who comes to meet us. So, together with the Church, let us all say and wait for the Lord and say together, "Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus".