Happy Advent!

Happy Advent to all!  We began our Advent with an Advent Retreat which focused on four words of Advent: Hope, Waiting, Rejoice and Patience.  We had most of the morning for personal reflection on each of these words.  We were then invited to share with one another on three levels:

A) Personal

B) Communal

C) Province/Society of Mary (in honor of the Bicentennial)

After a great sharing from all of us, we sang some traditional Advent songs and then sat in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament for 30 minutes.  We concluded our retreat with a festive meal.  It was a great way to begin the season!

Here's my homily for the First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent

Morning Church! A Happy Advent to all of you! Yes, we begin the holy season of Advent today in order to prepare ourselves for the great mystery of faith on Christmas, that God became one of us! We are in a new season and a new liturgical year.  The weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter.  There is change in the air.  The Church gives us these seasons so that we can change, so that we can be better disciples, so that we can renew our love for Jesus Christ.  If you are happy to welcome the season of Advent, say Amen! The Word of God today invites us to think about three themes: Stay Awake, Be Prepared and Walk in the Light.  What are the themes? Stay Awake, Be Prepared and Walk in the Light.

At night, after a full day of work, I am pretty tired.  Around 9pm I start to get sleepy because I usually go to bed around 10pm because I wake up at 5am.  Sometimes it is easy to stay awake until 10pm and other times I have to fight my body to stay awake.  Also, sometimes it is hard to stay awake if we are not actively engaged in a class, a presentation, or a homily, Amen? The Word of God today reminds us to Stay Awake! Paul tells the Romans to “awake from sleep” and that “night is over” and to “refrain from things of the night”.  The Gospel reminds us that we do not know the day nor the hour.  We need to stay awake to our faith.  It is easy to sometimes be bored with faith, Church, life.  The season of Advent says to us in a loud voice, WAKE UP!!! Don’t sleep walk through your faith and don’t sleep walk through your life.  Be awake and alert and attentive! As a child I always wanted to stay up later at night because I thought I was going to miss something if I went to bed.  That is the same desire that we should have with our faith.  We want to stay awake because maybe we may miss something.  Turn to the person next to you and say, Stay Awake!!!

The second theme today is: Be Prepared.  The Gospel reminds us that in the demands of everyday life may appear to interfere with knowing the signs of the Day of the Lord.  As we notice signs in nature we also must notice signs of God in our midst.  Matthew states that, “if the master of the house had known the hour of the night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.”  The Master of the house, and we, need to be prepared.  So how do we prepare?  I think we keep to the disciplines of our faith: prayer, works of mercy, reading the Word of God, participating in Mass and the sacraments, and caring for the needs of others.  If we do these things, then we will be prepared.  All of these spiritual disciplines help us to be focused on God and others, and that is our command…Love one another as I have loved you.  So during these four weeks of Advent, make a commitment to spend time each day in prayer, read the daily readings, attend Mass each Sunday, help a person in need and thank God each night before you go to bed for your life and the blessings that you received.  If you do this during Advent, you will be prepared, Amen?

And finally, the last theme is : Walk in the Light.  What is the last theme?  Walk in the Light. The prophet Isaiah tells the people that in the day of the Lord that all nations will be untied together, that we will move from war to peace, that there will be an end to violence when we walk in the light.  When we do the things of God, then we become a beacon of light for all.  When we walk on the path of light, all shall be well.  Paul tells the Romans to “put on the armor of light”.  It is not easy to be a faithful disciple, Amen? There is darkness in the world, and some of that darkness tries to confuse us.  We are people of the light.  When we bring our lives into the light we can see more clearly where we need to change.  Advent is about living our life in the light and not in the darkness.  We can walk in the light when we are awake and when we are prepared, Amen?  I love that imagery of armor.  Soldiers wear armor for protection when they go into battle.  Paul reminds us that even though we may not be at war in the literal sense, that life can be difficult and people of faith need protection against the things of darkness.  Putting on the armor of light protects us and keeps us safe for the Day of the Lord.  So, how is your armor? Is it protecting you and allowing you to walk in the light…or do you need some new armor?  Are you ready for the battle that comes for people of faith?

So people of God, today is the first Sunday of Advent.  We light the first candle on the wreath.  We begin to think about Christmas and vacation.  But, it is much more than a pretty wreath and time off.  We are preparing ourselves for the great mystery of the incarnation, where God becomes one of us.  In order for us to celebrate well, we cannot sleep walk through our days, we must Stay awake.  In order for us to celebrate well, we must be prepared and live our lives as if each day might be our last and so we pray, help others, read Scripture, and make changes in our lives.  In order for us to celebrate well, we must put on the armor of light and walk in the light and avoid things of the darkness.  Advent is a time for us to reflect and make changes in our lives.  And like our brothers and sisters in the early Church, we say, Come Lord Jesus, Maranatha! Are you ready to begin this four week journey? Come on Church, in a loud voice repeat after me, I am ready Lord….I am ready Lord…Amen?