Cycle C - Year II:

29 November 2015: First Sunday of Advent
(Liturgical color: Violet)

Gospel: Read  Luke 21:25-28, 34-36


A new journey of faith...

In our Catholic faith, we can actually greet each other a "Happy New Year" this Sunday, November 29. Because we begin a new liturgical year in our journey of faith with the Advent season.

Advent is a period of preparation, extending 4 Sundays before Christmas. The word "advent" comes
from the Latin word "advenire". which means "to come"; and it refers to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church wants us to meditate about Advent in three ways: first, and the most obvious, is the celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas; second, the coming of Christ in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of the Eucharist; and third, the return or second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of time.

At first impression, the Gospel passage for the First Sunday of Advent seems to be in contrast to the traditional understanding of Advent. Because Advent invites us to meditate upon the coming of the infant Jesus. And yet, the Gospel passage from St. Luke presents the triumphal return of our Lord Jesus in all His glory, power and might.

Well, there is really a common message. When we look beyond the actual events (that is, the first coming of Christ on Christmas day, and His second coming in the end) in either of these scenarios, the powerful and timely counsel being imparted to us is actually one and the same: "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap." In other words, preparedness for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ should be our proper disposition, whether we meditate upon the event involving His birth on Christmas day, or consider the return of Christ at the end.

That is why at the conclusion of the Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus warns us, "Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent...."

In our practical life, often times we allowed ourselves to be focusing only on material preparation for Christmas, neglecting to prepare ourselves spiritually. While the material and spiritual preparations need not really be mutually exclusive, the spiritual preparation should always take precedence over the former, if we intend to use Advent well.

Here are some suggestions on how to prepare ourselves during this Advent season: first, undertaking voluntary penances for our failures and shortcomings, consonant with the purple liturgical color of Advent; second, dedicating a portion of what one might spend on gifts toward charitable causes as a way of mortifying the secular tendency to over indulge during Christmas season; finally, we should dedicate ourselves to more prayers during this time, for example, meditating upon the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, reading the Gospel  especially the infancy narratives on Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and praying together as a family around the Advent wreath in our homes. These are practical and all-time honored ways of preparing our hearts during the Advent Season to receive our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas day.

For in reality, our whole lives should be an ongoing preparation to meet our Savior and the King of kings in our journey of faith, when He returns in glory.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.


Ad Jesum per Mariam!