Cycle A - Year I:  

27 November 2022: First Sunday of Advent 

(Liturgical Color: Violet)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 2:1-5

Second Reading:   Romans 13:11-14

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 24:37-44 

A New Beginning in our journey of faith!

This SUNDAY we begin a new liturgical calendar in the Season of Advent. Rightly, it is also the time of preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas Day.

Let us refresh our understand of some important notes on the new liturgical year. The start of the new liturgical year also marks the transition from one lectionary cycle (that is, Cycle A, B, and C) to the next. These cycles are the results of the Second Vatican Council which prescribed a change in the Sunday Gospel proclamation at Mass so that Catholics become more familiar with the text of the Holy Bible. The Church observes a three-year cycle of readings built around the three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For this new liturgical year we go back to Cycle A, Year I, and we will be hearing mostly from the evangelist St. Matthew.

What is the meaning of "Advent" in the liturgical calendar? The word "advent" comes from the Latin "ad venio" which means "to come to", and it refers to the coming of our Lord Jesus. So then, as we mentioned earlier, the Advent Season is a period of preparation extending over four Sundays before Christmas Day.

The liturgical color for Advent Season is violet, the bluer hues of violet (to distinguish it from the violet used during the Lenten Season.)  

The Church encourages Catholics to make use of the Advent Season as a period of spiritual preparation in three ways: the most obvious, in celebration of Jesus' birth on Christmas Day; the coming of Jesus Christ in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of the Eucharist; and the second coming of our Lord at the end of times. Thus, we can say that Advent Season is the start of a new stage in our worldly pilgrimage to the Father's house.

Suggested reflection on the Gospel proclamation for first Sunday of Advent: The theme of the Gospel reading is being ready and prepared. Jesus tells His disciples, "So, too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." (Mt 24:44) Jesus says the same thing to us today, be ready and be prepared! And since we cannot know when the hour will be, it is pointless marking time. Instead, have faith in the Lord and live according to His precepts.

Our preparation during this Advent Season must include the opportunity to focus on the great event of the Incarnation. It is Jesus' own choice to take our human flesh by being born of a Virgin. Thus, it is an event that demonstrates God's amazing humility and His incredible love and care for us, His sinful children.

During this Season of Advent, we pray and hope for the Lord's coming because we are sure that He is coming again; there is no doubt about this. So let us use Advent as an opportunity to deepen our waiting in hope for the realization of God's saving promise in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

When we encounter Jesus today in the Holy Eucharist, the same Lord who came into our world to become an infant Child, we come to trust that He care for us radically, that He is constantly looking for ways to draw near to us. So that we become able to see Him and His loving hand in our daily lives.

As we begin a new Church year in Advent, we are reminded of our main purpose in life -- to be ready and looking forward to our eventual home with the Lord.  So let us listen to our Lord Jesus when He says: "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day the Lord will come." (Mt 24:42) 

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!