1st Sunday of Advent (A)

1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT (A)
Dec. 2, 2007
(Mt 24:37-44)

A NEW BEGINNING

The new church year is ushered in with the season of Advent. It is primarily a time of spiritual preparation for Christmas- the feast which celebrates the birth of Christ and the beginning of our salvation. This is a time especially blessed by God which summons us to STAY AWAKE AND TO PREPARE in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Advent is an invitation to RENEW our Christian commitment and to start living the life that Christ’s first coming, more than 2,000 years ago, made possible in order to prepare for his final coming at the end of time. The reality of life in this world is that everything will eventually end.

If the real meaning of Christmas is to kept in the forefront of our minds, a CONSCIOUS decision must be made to enter into the proper spirit of ADVENT. At the beginning of this season a call to conversion is addressed to all of us because God wants us to grow closer to Him and to experience the warmth of his love more deeply. We do this by opening our hearts to receive his Son Jesus Christ into our lives. His presence can be experienced in the people we meet and in the situations that come our way each day.

Unfortunately since human nature will always choose the way of least resistance, many of us pass through Advent without grasping what God wants to do in our lives through Jesus. Our thoughts are all too often centered on the earthly material aspects of Christmas because our senses are bombarded by the glitter and shine of commercial advertisements encouraging us to greed and selfishness. The eternal Son of God seeks an ENTRY into our innermost being so that he may share his life with us. He stands at the door and knocks but will not come in uninvited. This is our opportunity to WELCOME him and advance on our spiritual journey by walking in the light of the Lord.

Let’s move on by starting RIGHT! A new beginning indeed!