something of his love. To keep a kind of inner diary of good things would be a beautiful and healing task. The Lord is here. This Christian certainty is meant to help us look at the world with new eyes and to understand the “visitation” as a visit, as one way in which he can come to us and be close to us. A second basic element of Advent is waiting—a waiting that is an act of hope. Advent thus shows us the very essence of Christian time and the true nature of history. Jesus