Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." (Mt 24:37-44)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112722.cfm
Advent means the “coming.” It’s original focus is the Second Coming of the Lord, which is why the Lord reminds us to “stay awake” and “be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Nowadays, in the commercial world, Advent has simply become the holiday shopping season. In the church, we still hear the ancient prophecies and the longing for the coming of the Savior and we continue to pray: Come, Lord Jesus, come do not delay!
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Advent Sunday I
