First Sunday of Advent

Today is the First Sunday of Advent, which is also the first Sunday of a new liturgical year for the Church. Over the next four Sundays, the Church leads us into a season of preparation for the coming of the Lord. In this season, we focus on two great mysteries of our faith: the second coming of Christ in glory and the Incarnation of the Lord in the birth of Jesus.

On this day we hear the bracing words of Jesus:

“Stay awake… you do not know the day your Lord is coming.”

It sounds as though Jesus is urging us to think about the future, about the end of time, about events far beyond our control.

But here is the irony. In the Mediterranean world, people did not think very much about the future. Middle Eastern culture was, and still is, deeply focused on the present moment. Only God knows the future, they would say, so why trouble yourself with it? To plan too far ahead was seen as tempting God. Jesus even warns them in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not worry about tomorrow… ask only for today’s bread.” Their temptation was not obsessing over the future, but becoming trapped in the immediacy of the present. A narrow focus on “right now” can blind a person to what is standing just beyond the edge of sight.

By the time Matthew writes his Gospel, nearly fifty years after the Resurrection, something had changed. Jesus had promised that the Son of Man would come, yet many of His first followers had already died. The Temple had been destroyed. The community was anxious, shaken, taunted by opponents who sneered, “Where is your coming Son of Man? It is all a fantasy.” Into this turmoil, Matthew reaches back to Jesus’ parables—borrowed from Mark—and refashions them as a word of hope to a frightened Church. “The Son of Man gave His word,” Matthew insists. “He will return. His promise stands, even if the timing is hidden.”

So Jesus tells the disciples: stay awake—not because the future must be feared, but because God acts in surprising ways, like the days of Noah, like the thief who arrives when no one expects him. Two people may work in the same field or grind at the same millstone, but only one notices the movement of God. The point is not who is taken or left; the point is awareness. The one who notices is the one who is ready.

Yet this Gospel cuts directly into our world. The ancient world struggled to think about the future. We struggle to live in the present. In our culture, the future is always rushing toward us. We plan for retirement before we finish university. We insure everything. We obsess about what comes next. And because our eyes are so fixed on the horizon, we often miss what is right in front of us—small graces, subtle warnings, quiet invitations from God.

Advent teaches us that watchfulness is not fear. It is attentiveness. It is learning to see the nearness of God in the ordinary. The Messiah does not arrive in a blaze of glory but in the stillness of a manger. God enters our lives not always in dramatic upheaval, but in the quiet nudge of conscience, in the person standing at our door, in the moment that asks for kindness, patience, or courage.

So the question this Advent is not only, “Are we prepared for the future?” The deeper question is, “Are we awake to the present?” What is God placing before us today? Which conversation needs our full attention? Which relationship needs healing? Which habit needs to be surrendered? Which blessing have we overlooked because we were racing toward the next task?

Advent is a season of expectation, but it is also a season of awakening. The Lord is nearer than we think. The invitation is simple: slow down, notice, pay attention. There is a grace standing right at the edge of your field of vision. Stay awake, and you will not miss Him.

Advent is also a time of journeying. Christ is coming—the very word Advent means “coming”—and we are called not to remain where we are, but to journey toward Him and journey with Him.

At a practical level, Advent calls us to go out to meet Christ:

to meet Him in prayer,

to receive Him, if possible, at daily Mass,

to be forgiven by Him in a good and devout Confession,

to spend time before Him in loving adoration,

to serve Him in the disguise of our neighbor in need,

and to follow in His footsteps by walking with Him on the holy, exciting, and luminous adventure of faith.

Our parish offers several opportunities to help us prepare for this season and grow in discipleship.

First, we grow in our faith through learning. Our parish is offering a Bible study led by Deacon Mike: Monday, December 2, and then on the following Tuesdays from 7:00–8:00 p.m. Please join as often as you can and use this time to prepare your heart for the season.

Second, we are invited to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent as a spiritual preparation for the coming of the Lord.

Confession times during Advent are: Saturdays: 3:00–3:45 p.m.

Tuesdays: 5:30–6:30 p.m.

The parish bulletin also lists reconciliation times at neighboring parishes. Please make use of this opportunity to experience the forgiving love of God as we prepare for Christmas.

We also continue Eucharistic Adoration on Tuesdays from 1:30–6:30 p.m.

Please find some time to be with the Eucharistic Lord in silence and prayer. Use the Advent Blue Book and other reflection materials for daily prayer and meditation.

So in short, Advent is the season when we get up, get excited, and get moving.

These things do not just happen—they require our will and our free choice. Advent is the time when God invites us to recalibrate our lives and give Him His proper place.

May this season awaken our hearts and prepare us well for the coming of Christ.