Why Weekly Advent?
Why did I pick such a weird name?
Such a Weird Name
Many know that it is currently the Advent season in preparation for Christmas (and also the second coming of Christ) but oddly enough that has nothing to do with why I choose that name here. The idea started back in the depths of COVID when I wanted to start a print newspaper (and still do). The print newspaper failed not because I could not find subscribers, or because of the logistics of distribution but because of all things I could not find anyone in my circle of friends willing to commit to write articles. A newspaper written by one author did not seem appropriate so I decided to wait and try again later. Later has become years but I still have a lot of words to say and no avenue to say them in. Is it conceited and prideful to think than anyone wants to read what I write? Yes, yes it is. But am I revisiting it anyway? Yes, yes I am. I am not that worried if anyone actually reads it but I need to still put my thoughts out into the public. In someways I would almost prefer nobody read it but that goes against the end of language which is communication of ideas to others. So because the point of language and thought is the other I will try to make this the best that I can. The only thing shared between the newspaper and this Substack is the name because I still have the email address from Google.
I originally choose weekly advent because daily/weekly/monthly wire/post/caller and other newspaper titles were taken. Advent is a Latin word that is from the prefix ad which means to, the verb Venire which means to come, and tus which is a suffix making the word a perfect passive participle. Put all the parts together and it translates to mean “to come in the past while still coming now”. Is that not the great mystery of Christianity? That God became incarnate in time (1 A.D. to 33 A.D.), lived a life span, died, and rose from the dead and so is still alive today is the great mystery of history. (picture below from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem)
What is There to Talk About?
The collision of Heaven and Earth is the topic at hand in nearly everything I write. Sometimes I will write about the political order, sometimes cultural topics, sometimes theological reflection, sometimes the practicalities of life in the Information Age, and honestly where ever I think I need to write about that week.
As the name implies the weekly structure will be my go to because this website is monetized and it would be theft for me to not publish regularly if even one person is paying. However I also must keep in mind my state of life, I work 40 hours a week, am studying for a Masters of Theology, and want to begin discerning with the Lay Fraternities of the Order of Preachers (Dominican 3rd Order). Therefore the goal will be at least three posts a month, if I make it to the fourth then that one will be free and also be a collection of summaries of all the other months posts. I am also still open to others of my friends posting here and while everyone has a podcast these days I also am not against starting one should this take off enough.
In the end my only expectation is that God’s will be done and that if this is not His will I hope it will die in a fiery explosion. This was short but my goal going forward because of how much subscriptions are they will be longer.