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Advent 2025: Maranatha — Come, Lord Jesus
Advent invites us into a sacred season of anticipation—of watching, waiting, and hoping for the coming of Christ. This year, our journey is shaped by the ancient prayer “Maranatha,” a Greek expression meaning Come, Lord Jesus. More than a word, Maranatha is a plea, a promise, and a posture of the heart.
To pray Maranatha is to call upon Christ to come—to come into our world today with healing and justice, to come into our hearts with peace and renewal, and to come again in the fullness of His glory. It is a cry of hope for the future and a reminder to live each day in readiness for His return.
This prayer also turns our hearts toward gratitude. As we prepare for Christmas and remember Christ’s first coming in Bethlehem, Maranatha invites us to recognize where the Lord has already been at work in our lives. It encourages us to look back with thanksgiving, look inward with openness, and look forward with expectant hope.
As you enter into these Advent reflections, may this simple yet profound prayer guide your steps. May it awaken in you a longing for God’s presence and inspire you to help bring about the Kingdom of God here and now—even as we await its fullness.
Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus.
By Monica Markovich, Executive Vice President and CFO
Waiting can be really hard.
Whether it is for something good – such as Christmas, Christmas break, a new child, or a new transition – or something harder such as for test results, health news, or the unknown. We often find our minds drawing toward anticipating the next things – whether they be good or bad. If we are anticipating something good, we might even long for it and wish for it to come sooner. If we are anticipating something more challenging, we might be filled with anxiety, fear, or dread. But all of that distracts us from what is happening right now, in the present moment with the present realities. It is exactly here, now, where we meet the Lord.
In 2021 I had the severe mercy of learning this through the surprise pregnancy and then devastating still birth of our 4th child, Tobias Maximilian. At 18 weeks pregnant we were shocked to learn this pregnancy was very dangerous for me, and only two weeks later to learn that Toby was also quite sick, and there was a chance that the pregnancy might not end well for either or both of us. Six weeks later, I delivered Toby into his eternal life. During those weeks, I learned to practice living in the present in a new way. I could not wish away the aches, the fear, the next appointment by wishing for the next day, because I did not know what the next day could hold for either of us. All I knew was that Toby and I had that day to meet Christ and to be Christ to others around us.
This is I think part of what Christ means when he says “Therefore, stay awake!” He will be in the future, but He is in the present and is asking us to be here too. We are not only preparing for Christ to come at Christmas, or for Christ’s second coming – but for Christ to come here, now, in this present moment and present day into our hearts wherever they are – to meet Christ in others, and to let them meet Him in us. Spaces of encounter can only happen when we are present to the moment. Do not let yourself be tempted to dream of another day or time, for it is today that He has given us to do His work of loving one another and letting ourselves be loved. Stay awake today, and encounter Christ.
By Samantha Derksen
The words “Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus” serve as a crucial spiritual reminder to resist complacency in the routines of everyday life – a challenge I keenly feel as a mother of two children under two, navigating the whirlwind of their schedules. The request to write this reflection truly felt like a spiritual alarm clock set by my colleagues urging me to “wake up!” because Advent is once again upon us.
Advent is meant to be a season of spiritual longing, but for the past four months my spiritual life has largely felt like a continuous act of sacrifice. Attending Sunday Mass as a family is a significant undertaking primarily because our toddler, Julia, prefers to run and play. My husband and I want her to be present with the community, which translates to a strict “no food, no loud toys” policy and the two of us relying instead on quiet Catholic children’s books and her little chewable rosary for engagement. Inevitably, one of us ends up standing in the back of the church, holding her while reciting silent prayers and hoping to find just a moment of peace.
Recently, after a particularly challenging Mass, as I was putting on Julia’s coat a mother with older children sitting behind us (whose children had kindly waved at and entertained my daughter during the Mass) took a moment to thank me for bringing my family to church. She expressed gratitude for our commitment and the sharing of that special time. Her kindness truly melted my heart.
That brief interaction was a gentle but profound reminder of the deeper significance behind bringing my daughters to Mass: it is not just a weekly commitment, but an intentional way of welcoming them into a vibrant community of believers. While the experience is sometimes demanding, I found deep comfort in the realization that countless parents and mothers before me have navigated similar struggles. Now their grown children are the ones attending Mass, often with their own children in tow, continuing the legacy of faith. This small moment affirmed the hope of the present and what is to come: “Come Lord Jesus.”
Being surrounded by peers, faculty, and staff in the Holy Cross community who are also striving to live out their faith creates a powerful “community of hope.” This shared journey and mutual support help in maintaining a vigilant and hopeful spirit, reminding me that I am part of a larger body of believers waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises. The structure of this community provides constant reminders to “stay awake” and be prepared, ensuring that the true meaning of Advent, waiting in hope for the Lord’s coming, remains at the heart of the season.
By Jake Conn, ’27
When I hear Come Lord Jesus, I think of peace.
Peace of mind from the world that we live in and peace inside. When college and life seems to take place into so much of our lives, it gets quite busy to the point of not even being able to hear yourself. When you just hear yourself you hear the world. When you listen to God you hear the Holy Spirit and how he tries to cleanse your heart and mind. This leads me to prayer, when I hear Him- it draws me to be with him more because that is true inner peace.
When I pray for God to come into my life for Advent, I pray for him to help me make sacrifices, other people around me, and for the deeper needs of the world. Because living a selfless life requires to give oneself fully like Jesus did, and to live like Jesus is living life to the fullest.
Being part of Holy Cross deepens this mission by offering things like Rosary, night and morning prayer, mass and other various events. Being able to be surrounded by such a community has helped me get deeper in Faith and contributing to God’s mission.
I love that I can share my Faith and love for him freely at Holy Cross, it is one of the most beautiful things about this college and has made Advent so much better in my college years.
The Gospel for this past Sunday includes a phrase that makes me smile despite the apocalyptic backdrop of Christ’s second coming: “they were… marrying and giving in marriage.” Having just gotten married in August, I can relate to the Gospel in a new way and, more importantly, should be preparing for Christ’s second coming as we are still marrying and being given in marriage! Thankfully, that’s what Advent is for: preparation, hope, and waiting – an intentional slowing down.
Last week’s Thanksgiving holiday was the first with my new family which meant new traditions, long drives to and from Texas, staying purposeful to my wife and I’s collective prayer times and Mass attendance, and adjusting to a different pace and environment that’ll be carried through at least the next season of my life as we continue to alternate where we go for holidays. In the midst of the trip to Texas, we took a trip downtown on Friday where the holiday festivities were in full swing for Christmas. Santa was available for pictures, Christmas music was on in the shops, Christmas lights were out and about for viewing, and people were already wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Having not even reached the Advent season – it certainly seemed like we were already speeding up past the preparation and jumping straight to Christmas!
On the drive back up, I asked my wife, Elyse, what she would like to do for Advent this year, and we talked about the intentional steps we could take to prepare for Christmas including adding back prayer practices, limiting screen time, and postponing desserts among others. They’re small sacrifices meant to build us up, slow us down, and prepare for the joy that’s to come at Christmas.
Juan Maldonado
Associate Director of Academic Advising Operations
By Matt Palmer
“So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Anyone who has little children will tell you that when they have their eyes fixed on a particular day, it’s hard for them to think of anything else. Ever since October, our five-year-old son has been asking a variation of the same question.
“How many days until Halloween?”
“How many days until Thanksgiving?”
“How many days until Christmas?”
Providing that answer when children have little concept of time can feel frustrating. The answer doesn’t change every five minutes, but that doesn’t stop them from asking. And no answer is ever truly satisfying.
Here’s the reality: adults are just as bad at this.
Waiting, Tom Petty sang, is the hardest part. We live in a culture of instant gratification and time management. We can order dinner to be delivered when we want it, cut ahead in line at Disney World with a lightning pass, stream a show exactly when we want to watch it, curate the perfect playlist for a shower, and have Amazon drop off a package at just the “perfect” time.
Everything is on our time. When it’s not, just like a five-year-old, we are discouraged by the idea that the answer is “not now.”
But, soon and very soon, something better is ahead. We have to trust in God’s mercy and God’s time.