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As we enter into the Advent season there is a great emphasis on the theme of watchfulness in the Liturgy. Jesus says to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come!” And the time to which Jesus refers is his second coming at the end of time. We want Jesus to come. Indeed our whole life is a running towards Jesus. In the Opening Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent we pray for “…the resolve to run forth and meet [the] Christ” in the hope of being worthy of possessing the heavenly Kingdom.
So, we enter upon this season in which the Liturgy of the Church urges us to be watchful, vigilant, and even filled with joyful hope. Let us ask ourselves what undermines our watchfulness? Let us ask ourselves what we need to do to cultivate a spirit of watchfulness, an interior alertness that enables us to seize the season of grace that the Church opens for us at the beginning of a new Year of Faith.
One way to live Advent well is to make good use of our time. We know neither the day nor the hour of the Lord’s second coming nor do we know the day nor the hour of our passing from this earth. But we do have the day in which we live. Every day is a gift whether we deem it a good day or a bad day. Even the most difficult day is a gift when we grow in grace. Even the most difficult day is precious when we use it to desire Jesus.
Blessed John Henry Newman once wrote: “He watches for Christ who has a sensitive, eager, apprehensive mind; who is awake, alive, quick-sighted, zealous in seeking and honoring him; who looks out for Him in all that happens, and would not be surprised, who would not be over-agitated or overwhelmed, if he found that He was coming at once!”
May each of you have a Blessed Advent Season as we together as a community of Faith celebrate the Lord’s coming amongst us.
--Fr. Rudy Garcia
Pastor