Advent meditation: On the second day of creation, God creates a firmament to divide the waters above from the waters below. This is a barrier separating heaven from Earth. In the temple in Jerusalem, which represented the whole world, the Holy Place corresponded to this firmament. The veils in it divided the Courtyard, where people were free to enter, and the Holy of Holies, which could almost never be entered. At Christ’s crucifixion, the veil in the temple tore and at his ascension, Christ ascended into the Holy of Holies in Heaven. Through the saving work of Christ, we are now able to enter into the Holy of Holies in Heaven as well.
Prayer: Take away from us, we beg, O Lord, our iniquities so that with pure minds we might merit to enter into your Holy of Holies. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (From the 1962 Roman Missal)
Scripture: And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. (Genesis 1:6-8)
