Cycle B - Year I:  

29 November 2020:  First Sunday of Advent

(Liturgical Color: Violet)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 63:16-17, 19--64:2-7

Second Reading:   1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Gospel:  Please Read  Mark 13:3-9

"Be watchful! Be alert!"

The Catholic Church starts this Sunday a new liturgical year in our journey of faith with the Season of Advent, more popularly experienced as the Christmas Season.

Advent is a period of preparation, extending over four Sundays before Christmas.  The word "advent" comes from Latin "adventus", which means "arrival" or "coming".  It is a preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas Day.

The Church invites us to reflect during the Advent season in three ways:  first, and the most obvious, as a time of preparation for the Solemnities of Christmas, in which we remember the First Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ to humanity; second, looking forward to Christ's Second Coming at the end of time; and also, we reflect on the coming of our Lord Jesus in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Our Evangelist during this new liturgical year (Cycle B, Year I) is mostly Saint Mark.  The theme of the Gospel narratives on the First Sunday of Advent is to be vigilant and alert.  "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come."  (Mk 13:33)  We hear these words, or their equivalent, at the beginning of every Advent Season.  Obviously, these are words from the past that direct us to the future.  This interplay of past and future nicely reveals the character of Advent itself, and of Catholic life in general.  Because how we receive our Lord at His birth will determine how we respond to Him at His return, or second coming.

Today's reading tells us that the right attitude of a true Christian is that of faith and trust, rather than fear for the final coming.  And so the first Sunday of Advent invites us to be awake, be prepared, hope and trust in God's loving mercy.

To help us understand better the urgency with which we should anticipate the Lord's return in glory, Jesus compares us to servants awaiting their master's return but not knowing exactly when it will occur.  This uncertainty should not leave us dreading the future.  Rather, it should impel us to live in such a way that whenever Jesus returns, we will be found ready and waiting for Him. Our whole lives should be an ongoing preparation to meet the King of kings, and Lord of lords, whenever He should decide to return.

How can we make use of the Advent Season for our personal preparation?

Here are some practical suggestions:  First, undertaking voluntary penances during the season of Advent by availing of the Sacrament of Reconciliation; second, dedicating a portion of what we might spend on gifts toward charitable causes as a way of mortifying the secular tendency to overindulge during the Christmas season; finally, but not last, we should dedicate ourselves to intensified prayer, for example, meditating on the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. All these are among the most effective ways of being prepared and watchful during the Advent Season.

Now, let us begin our Advent pilgrimage by lighting the candle of Hope (in the Advent Wreath)... a hope for new beginning in our journey of faith toward the Father's House.  Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!