Today is the first Sunday of Advent (Christmas Season)
Advent means coming, The Lord is coming.
How beautiful is the feeling and knowing that it is Christmas Season again!
TO ONE AND ALL, MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND HAPPY SUNDAY!
The best preparation for Christmas is always Spiritual preparation. If we want to really feel the Spirit of Christmas, Spiritual Preparation is a must. For the Catholics, in many Parishes the schedule for kumpisalan bayan have already been announced.
Someone is shouting in the wilderness: The Lord is coming, make straight the way for The Lord: Forgive. Reconcile. Share. Be content with what you have.
Be a blessing to others this Christmas!
Every year our Church calendar (Advent – Ordinary Time – Lent – Easter Season-Ordinary Time – And back to Advent) moves in a cycle which in effect allows us to renew ourselves into an ever growing better person. This time let us not missed this opportunity!
Our theme for today‘s reading is: Stay Awake!
And here is our Gospel reading for today!
Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13: 33-37)
From our Gospel, what message can we get from The Lord?
1. Imagine this incident: For the past year or two the company canteen is not manned during the night shift and there was no inventory checking of snacks consumed during the night shift. Those who took their snacks just listed the items they consumed (honesty system). One day management decided to check the inventory. During that night five people were working and for a particular item, five snacks were consumed, but only two employees listed their names. One of them consumed two pieces and the other got one piece. So two pieces were missing. During the investigation nobody wants to admit who consumed the missing inventory. When the committee assigned to investigate the incident submitted their report, it turns out that the guilty party happens to be the person who have a good record this past few years. For a few pesos of snacks his good refutation was tainted. (The Lord, who knows the truth, will come when we least expected it).
2. The Lord said: “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)
3. The Lord said: “you are neither cold nor hot, you are lukewarm and as such I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)
4. “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to that day (the judgement day), make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter 3:14)
5. From the above messages, we can say in Tagalog: “Kung magpapakatino, lubos-lubosin na.”.