DAVAO CITY, December 6, 2009—A departure from the usual notion that Advent is the time when people expect and prepare for Christmas, Archbishop Fernando Capalla said that it is a season which calls the faithful to embark on an inner journey.

Archbishop Capalla added that this journey includes self-discovery through sustained and intense self-awareness or mindfulness as other religions teach it.

“In this sense, it is the Lord living in the core of our being who is expecting and beckoning us to come inside. Our coming, our advent into this timeless presence is being awaited,” he said.

Archbishop Capalla also explained that the Christian to be authentic and real needs to struggle to get in touch with the real self through prayer and self-awareness exercises.

“It is not an easy struggle but it is the only way to a godly and holy life. We are embodied spirits. Our main problem in life is the utter neglect of the spirit in us,” he said.

He also said that the real self is not the thought or desire or behavior but it refers to this witness to conceptual thinking, emotional reaction and sensory perceptions.

“If the thinking, feeling, and perceiving processes are flawed and disordered, it means that the person is only in touch with his/her false or unreal self,” said Archbishop Capalla. (Mark Ventura)