The human emotions of remembrance and expectation share the same stage during Advent. All through this season, our hearts are filled with memories of past Christmas moments, and those who are youngsters among us encourage all of us anxiously to anticipate the future Christmas excitement.

Advent fuses both sentiments together for most of us. God’s Word fuels these same feelings as we are reminded to be vigilant for what God has promised from of old and to be grateful for the ways God has already fulfilled His promises in the Christmas event at Bethlehem.

The theme of the first two weeks of Advent stresses the anticipated coming of the Messiah. They are directed toward the future. The final two weeks emphasize the imminent appearance of the Christ. Advent calls us at the same time to look forward and to think of the past.

We hold both of these feelings close within our hearts during these four weeks before the festival of Christmas. One without the other would be incomplete.

Remembering the past and preparing for the future is a spiritual challenge for most of us. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a ritualized way of preparing for Christmas as we admit that there are things from our own past that we would like to acknowledge and then to move beyond.  We come to this sacrament knowing that God’s promise of merciful pardon will indeed be ours.

A worthy Confession admits our sinfulness and then should prepare us for a brighter tomorrow.  I encourage you to find a moment and an opportunity to seek the Lord’s merciful forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation this Advent. Our parishes provide additional moments in their schedules for this sacrament.  Each of us has something to ask of the Lord’s merciful forgiveness.

I remind my brother priests that every good confessor always points the penitent to a more hopeful tomorrow and that should encourage everyone to experience the courage and consolation to begin anew that this sacrament offers.

Looking back and gazing toward tomorrow are the spiritual sentiments of Advent.  May they lead all of us to celebrate a joyful Christmas and in preparation for that feast to find an opportunity to seek the Lord’s pardon in this special sacrament of renewal and hope.

Advent is only four short weeks and many of us busy ourselves with the many tasks that Christmas preparation demand. Let us both decorate our homes and shop for presents for our loved ones while renewing our own spirits with God’s bountiful mercy in a sacrament that fits so conveniently and appropriately in this time of year.

(Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, writes his “What I Have Seen and Heard” column for the Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.)