Keeping Watch This Advent
Dec
1
Written by:
Monday, December 01, 2008
1st Sunday of Advent
November 30, 2008
"...Watch, therefore, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming... May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping!. What I say to you I say to all:' Watch!'
Mark 13:33-37
Advent is a precious time of preparation and renewal that frequently gets lost amid the hubbub of busyness of the weeks before Christmas. The irony of it all is that little children know the meaning of this scripture better than the adults do, since most of them keep watch for Santa and as a consequence prepare their list of what they want! They may even get ready by trying to be better ... so they will get even more.
And you – what do you want for Advent? How are you going to prepare? We always find time for the things that are really important. We will get as much out of the Advent and Christmas seasons as we have prepared for them. If all our concern is only on commercial things and parties and presents, another year will go by and very little will really change. Here are a couple of really good suggestions that don't take much time.
Come to an Advent Penance Service. Preparations for Christmas should begin with our heart. Give yourself a new spiritual start. God wants to give us a clean heart to prepare for his coming, but we must make the first move. We are blessed to have four services in the area and many priests at each one.
Come to daily Mass once a week. The grace of receiving the Eucharist and the scripture during the week can bear rich fruit in our lives. We offer mass at 6PM on Wednesdays for those who can't come at our 12:05 Noon mass. St Vincent's daily mass is in the morning. St Joseph's downtown also has a noon mass daily. Try adding Mass to your shopping trips.
Watch for Lord to appear in unexpected places. The Lord often appears to us in surprising ways, coincidences, unexpected blessings, moments of beauty as well as in prayer, scripture, mass, and he people around us. If you make it a point to notice the places God is appearing to you, it will become a habit.
Look for people in need and help them. This can take the form of donations to the coat closet, food bank, Christmas dinner or St Vincent de Paul society and adding one such group to the gift exchange. God also places people in need all around us; often what they need is a smile, an ear, or a moment of our time. Such small acts of kindness, done deliberately, will make for a great Advent and perhaps, a new way of living when the season is over.
Father Gary