Stay Awake!
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
So, we begin the Season of Advent, the time of anticipation, not only for the upcoming Solemnity of Christmas, but also for the Lord’s ultimate “advent” at the end of days.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that the “coming of the Son of Man” (code language, rooted in passages in the Book of Daniel, that pertains to the end of days) will catch people off guard, like the flood did in Noah’s days. It does not mean that there will not be warning signs, but implies that many will not heed the warning signs or change their ways.
The main point of Jesus’ words is to exhort his listeners to “stay awake”, not allowing the daily routines of life or worldly excesses to lure them into a state of spiritual drowsiness, oblivious to the spiritual dangers around them. He wants his listeners to be prepared, “for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
The Church invites us to use the Season of Advent as a time of spiritual preparation, not only so that we celebrate Christmas with the proper focus (i.e. the true meaning of Christmas), but also that we pay attention to the signs of the times, attend to our own spiritual health and prepare for our eventual appearance before the Lord after we take our last breath (which could happen sooner than we expect).
So, I invite you to embrace the Season of Advent so that you:
- Draw closer to God’s merciful love.
- Let go, more and more, of those things that draw you away from goodness and from God.
- Better prepare to face the Lord, if he were to call you from this life today.
Have a blessed Advent!
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
