“St. Bernard frequently returns to the idea of the ‘three Advents’ of Christ. The first of these is the one in which He entered into the world, having received a Human Nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The third is the Advent which will bring Him into the world at the end of time to judge the living and the dead…

We learn to recognize the present Advent that is taking place at every moment in our own earthly life as wayfarers. We awaken to the fact that every moment of time is a moment of judgment, that Christ is passing by and that we are judged by our awareness of His passing. If we join Him and travel with Him to the Kingdom, the judgment becomes for us salvation. But if we neglect Him and let him go by, our neglect is our condemnation!” — Thomas Merton, “Seasons of Celebration,” quoted in Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton.