Beloved in Christ, today mother church invites all to embark on the sacred journey of Advent. Advent is a holy season when we undertake spiritual preparation in anticipation of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, his first coming.
Jeremiah in our first reading, reminds us of the promise of the LORD and his commitment to fulfill it. “…I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel…In those days, … I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right and just in the land.”
Advent season is a time to humble ourselves and allow the Lord to teach us his paths, to guide us in his truth, reveal/show us the sins in our lives/hearts for conversion that we may grow in uprightness and love as we wait for his coming. Ps 25:4-5, 8-10.
St. Paul in the second reading offers us the fruits of the Advent season when carried out diligently and faithfully. “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all,… so as to strengthen your hearts to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ….”
Advent is a special time for renewal and interior change; a time to re-order/re-orientate our lives, to do away with hatred and fill our hearts with the love of God. Advent is a sacred time to strengthen ourselves through the Sacrament of conversion and recommit ourselves to the Grace of our Lord for a holy living as we await his first coming at Christmas. “Be holy for I the Lord am holy.”
The gospel from St. Luke speaks about the coming of the Lord. “And they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” He admonished us to avoid drunkenness and anxiety of life that may cause us to be distracted. Instead, we should be vigilant at all times and pray that we have the strength to stand before the Lord. The word vigilance means a call to be watchful or alert so that we are not deceived by the evil one. It’s an invitation to avoid complacency and live a responsible life. Dear friends in Christ, Advent is a time to transform our prayer life. It’s a time to be prayerful, increase the frequency or intensity of our prayer and grow in strength in our spiritual life.