1st Sunday Advent - Stay Awake!

Today is a special day, and not just a day, but the beginning of a special season, Advent. During Advent, we focus on waiting, we wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus,

we wait for the Second Coming of Jesus, and we wait for the day we leave this world and go to our judgment.

The words of Jesus in the Gospel today express the mood of this early part of the Advent season: Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come.

In the first reading today, the Jewish people expressed hope in God even when going through a difficult time, and so we heard glimpses of hope in that reading: “Return for the sake of your servants . . .Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you.” This is what Jesus would do, at His first coming. He would rend the heavens and by the Holy Spirit, He came down in the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born in Bethlehem. But, also at His second coming, He will rend the heavens and come down on a cloud, just as He had originally went to heaven on a cloud.

Jesus said, ”May He not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Watch” These words are also good for all of us to hear as we begin Advent. From what sleep are we to awake?

We are to be awake from being asleep in sin, and sleep of failing to care for our self and our family spiritually. In other words, to take a look at our lives and see how we are doing. We do not know when our lives will end and that is why Jesus said, “Watch, therefore, you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or in the morning.”

We need to always be in a state of grace, awake, says Jesus because we do not know when He will call us from this life. You do not want to be like the people who were not ready at the time of Noah when the flood came. In our time, we have the impression that many are asleep to sin.

I recently did the funeral of my cousin, Jendee. She was 45 years old. I witnessed their wedding 18 years ago. She and her husband had two boys, a senior in high school, and a 7th grader. She found out she had pancreatic cancer in June, and died 5 months later just before Thanksgiving. She never made it to Christmas. Instead, Jesus came to Jendee in her hospital room. Within 5 minutes after her two boys came to see her, Jesus came. Praise God, she had received the last sacraments and Holy Communion, a few days before she died. She and her family were not attending Mass, and her boys had not been going to PSR. She never expected to die so young, and at the funeral, I reminded the people Jesus died at the age of 33.

I am sure, she wished she would have been better prepared, by being taking care of the spiritual needs of her boys, by bringing them to church and taking them to religious education classes, and by taking care of her own spiritual needs before she died.

Not everyone is able to prepare for death. Father Mark Beard, is a Youtube priest who preached on preparing for our personal judgment, and the next day after he gave that homily, he was killed in a car accident, and went to his judgment. Some people die instantly from a car accident, a heart attack, an aneurysm, a stroke.

When I went to Medjugorje last year, I was confronted with the possibility of death. I wasn’t afraid to die, but I told the Lord, I wanted to do more things for Him. When we die, we have to be ready to let go of everything, our family, our desires, our dreams. We have to be detached from the things of the world, because ultimately, we can’t take them with us. All of our hopes, dreams, and desires are fulfilled in heaven.

Yesterday, I was visiting with a woman from a nursing home. And she said something to me that was very beautiful. She said every time she thinks of someone, she prays for them. She said I think that is God’s way of reminding me to pray for others.

We need to live every moment of the day, as though it was our last. Not in fear, but to be ready spiritually, so that we have no regrets. Do we make family prayer a priority? Do we value our children’s religious education. What we learn about God and His Church helps us get to heaven, but our worldly honors will not. What do we place first above everything? Is it school activities? Is it our job? Is it our money? God should be first above everything, and allow Him to be involved in everything.

Matthew 25 tells us that we will be judged on love by doing deeds of mercy. Jesus said what you do unto the least of others, you do unto Me. Is there some poor person or family, you can help during Advent. Is there some organization you would like to donate?

There is what is called the principle of subsidiarity, which states that we first are to take care of our immediate family, then our extended family, then our parish, then our community, then those in our state, then our country, and lastly to take care people in other countries.

Is there some relative or someone in the community that you could help?

Advent is a time to prepare to celebrate the first coming of Jesus as a baby. It’s also a time to prepare for our own personal judgment, but also to prepare for His 2nd coming.

What better way to prepare, than to wake from sin. In other words, to prepare our hearts for Jesus which we can do with a good, sincere, and honest Confession this Advent. There is someone you need to be reconciled, to forgive?

In the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, She asks for monthly confession. I would like to encourage you to go to Confession at least twice, once at the beginning of Advent and just before Christmas.

Mary asked us to daily read a small paragraph from the bible, to daily pray the Rosary, to fast on Wed and Friday, to attend Mass during the week. Many of you have the opportunity to come to daily Mass.

Just after college and I began to attend daily Mass. I was absolutely shocked at how the German Catholics practiced their faith. Before Advent there was a good number who attended daily Mass, but when Advent started, the church was packed with those who attended daily Mass. They saw the importance of coming to Mass to prepare for Christmas.

I encourage you to come to daily Mass if you are able. Many of you are able to come to Mass on Wed. evening. Come and receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

How beautiful it is, 90% of our families have a weekly Holy Hour. Bring your children with you, so they too can experience Jesus in adoration. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them.” You can come anytime there is Adoration and you can come also to pray to Jesus in the tabernacle. That’s why its continuous adoration, so anyone may come and pray during the 46 hours of Adoration that we have every week. It’s not just your hour, the time of Adoration is for anyone who want to come and pray. The church is big enough for people to spread out and pray.

At home, pray the Rosary as a family, perhaps on a Sunday evening before going to bed. Father Peyton, used to say, the family that prays together, stays together.

Make time for Jesus in your life every day. Turn off the TV, get away from the phone, the video games, the internet, have some silence in your life, so Jesus can speak to you. Pray together as a family and pray alone. Pray, pray, pray.

Make Christ be with you every day and at all times. How can we be all wrapped up in Christ and have Christ behind us, before us, beside us, beneath us, above us and so prepared for when He comes?

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in the mouth of a friend and stranger. Amen.

Mostly taken from Fr. Tommy Lane