First Sunday of Advent A2

First Sunday of Advent A2

Today is the First Sunday of Advent which speaks about the coming of our Saviour into this word and specially in our own lives. He comes everyday silently in our lives without prior information. I am reminded of a poem of Gitanjali no 45, written by Rabindra Nath Tagore. Which go like this:-

Have you not heard his silent steps, 

He comes, comes, and ever comes.

Every moment and every age, 

Every day and every night,

He comes, comes, ever comes.

Many a song have I sung, in many a mood of mind,

But all their notes have always proclaimed,

He comes, comes, ever comes.

In the fragrant days of sunny April through the forest path

He comes, comes, ever comes.

In the rainy gloom of July nights on thundering chariot of clouds

He comes, comes, ever comes

In sorrow after sorrow, it is his steps that press upon my heart,

And it is the golden touch of his feet, that makes my joy to shine.

- (Tagore, Gitanjali, 45)

The Lord comes to us in many ways and manners which we do not understand. He made Himself available to us in variety of ways. He comes in our life in beauty; He comes in our life in love, in strength, in goodness, in friendship and in support. He comes in our life in sorrow and in joy.

My dear people, He comes every day  but  we fail to recognize him because we are too busy in our materialistic world. In today’s gospel Jesus encourages his followers to remain alert in the spirit. We need to be awake in faith to recognize and serve Christ in these commonplace and routine encounters since it will do us no good to recognize him on the Last Day if we have not recognized and served him day by day.

Accidents happen when we least expect them. A sensible man would be prepared for the unexpected. He would protect himself with insurance to protect his property; he would save money for a rainy day, would anticipate for a moment of disgrace and would at least be prepared mentally to cope up with any situation or distress. On the other hand, the foolish man never plans the future; he never anticipates for calamities, he takes everything for granted. When evil strikes him, he is caught unaware.

We are living in a time of great calamities, when apocalyptical prophecies are being fulfilled. Do we think we are safe? Do we think we are better off than anyone else and that we may escape the tribulation that has been predicted for everyone? 

we are better off than anyone else and that we may escape the tribulation that has been predicted for everyone?

If we are going away on a trip, we prepare ourselves in many ways. We prepare our luggage, make travel arrangements, prepare our camera, obtain foreign currency, get a passport and obtain visas for the places we will visit, in other words we spare no effort in order to secure a safe and happy holiday.

We know very well that preparation is the secret of success, not only in earthly activities, but also in our spiritual life. And just as we anticipate the weather by movements of the clouds and the winds, we can also understand that we are living in very dangerous times when things may change very quickly from one moment to the next.

We are talking here about our trip from this life into eternity. A whole life is given to us so that we may stop frequently and meditate about it. It is very important for us to be constant and persevere in our spiritual life otherwise when the final moment arrives it will catch us unaware.

I do not want anyone to be lost; this is why I came personally to proclaim my message of salvation to everyone, so that no one would be lost, says the Lord!”

It is never too late to stop and reflect on these spiritual realities that unfortunately get obscured with all the worldly occupations.

The Lord is telling us once more, repent and amend your life, be more aware of your reality as a spiritual being. Remember that the time will come when you will be called to enter into the spiritual realm for eternity and depending on how you lived your life you will either be saved or condemned. It is a very serious situation that needs urgent attention; do not procrastinate. Start doing something about it before it is too late. Be alert, keep praying and watching.

Let us pray, Lord open our eyes in faith to see God present and active in our life and in our world. Open our heart and our house to the Lord who comes to us daily in the form of the needy man or woman. This is the best way to prepare to welcome the Lord when he comes on the Last Day​.

First Sunday of Advent A1

 First Sunday of Advent A1

In our lives we encounter different types of preparation because we are waiting for someone to come or something to happen into our lives. We spend a lot of money and energy for these preparations. For example, preparing a party, a preparation for our own career or for our own wedding and for the birth of a baby. Another one is preparation for moving into another house or for building a new home or for retirement and many more. We are so very excited about these to come.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent as you know, means “coming.” In our gospel today, it speaks about watchfulness and preparation on our part.

There was a story of a certain person, named Nilo. He always dreamed that God is talking to him. One night, in his dream, God spoke to him, saying: “Nilo, I want to meet you personally.”

Nilo was so excited and he asked God: “When will be that time, my Lord?” God answered: “Tomorrow at six o’clock in the evening.” So Nilo got busy preparing everything – food, his house, he bought new dress and so many things. 

At six o’clock in the evening, everything was ready and he was waiting for God to come but He did not show up at that time. At seven o’clock God did not show up again.

At eight o’clock in the evening, a beggar knocked at his door asking for something to eat but he did not give anything. He told the beggar that he is waiting for a very important person and told that he could not entertain him. “Get out of my way!” Nilo shouted at the beggar. So the beggar went away sad and hungry.

At nine o’clock in the evening, a man knocked at his door again asking for help because his son got sick. But Nilo said: “I don’t have money, I spent all my money in preparation of meeting a very important person, my God who is coming today and I am waiting to meet Him. So the man went home without getting anything. 

Nilo waited till ten o’clock at night for God's coming but he did not come and finally he went to sleep. God talked to him in his dream. Nilo was angry and he said to God: “My Lord, why did you not come, I was waiting for you. I prepared everything for you. I did not see even you shadow.

God answered: I did come. I fulfilled my promise. Do you remember the beggar knocking at your door? It was me. Do you remember the man asking you for help? It was me again but you sent me away. You do not recognize me. You don’t like me.”

My dear friends, what are we waiting for? What are we preparing for? What are we looking for? Are we looking for a miracle? If we are waiting for Christ to be born, Christ was already born two thousand years ago. He is our Saviour and our brother too. If we are waiting for the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, He is already in us but we do not recognize His presence and role in our lives. If we are waiting for the Church to be born, the Church is already in our midst. If we are waiting for the faith, God gives everything to us. What are we waiting for? Every Sunday, we attend Mass, we pray and have our novena. We receive the body of Christ and Christ becomes a part of us. But after the Mass, we return to our old habits. What God is looking from us is a changed way of life, a new direction and a renewed life. A life by which we can see the face of Christ in other people especially the lowly. As Christ said: “What you do to the least of brothers you it unto me.” This changed way of life should not only be now, but it should be Now And Forever. 

To conclude my short reflection, I would like to share with you a story. It is about a Master asking a question to his disciples. He said: “How can we determine that another day will come?” His disciples answered: “Because tonight is evening, so tomorrow is the sign that another day will come.

“No, when the sun begin to rise, that is the sign that another day will come,” answered the other disciples. The Master answered: You did not get the right answer my dear disciples. As long as you remain in darkness, there will be no another day in your life.”

This is true my dear friends, as long as we do not see the face of Christ in other people, we will remain in darkness. As long as you do not show to other people the face of Christ through you, there will be no tomorrow and there will be no other day to come in our lives. I ask you reflect on this. Let us also pray to God that He may give us His grace of waiting so that we may become more vigilant and still awake when He will come again.

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First Sunday of Advent A

First Sunday of Advent A

 A mother was standing vigil by the bedside of her sick child. She was watching for signs of improvement or worsening of the illness. She was drowsy and sleepy but she was constantly at watch, ready to respond to any need of her child. She was vigilant.

It takes effort to be watchful. One has to overcome boredom. The watcher has to concentrate his faculties to the task at hand. In military circles, sentry duty is a serious obligation. One can be liable to a court martial in case of laxity, especially in times of war.

Today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. We are at the beginning of a new liturgical year. Just as we traditionally stand vigil to greet the New Year, so we are urged to stand vigil at the Church’s New Year. The Gospel this Sunday cautions us, “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Mt 24: 41) Be vigilant at all times.

What are we to be vigilant about? What are we watching for? In many children’s mind, we are watching for the coming of Christmas. We are waiting for the birthday of the Baby Jesus. We are making ourselves ready for a traditional and emotional celebration. For some people, Christmas is a time for parties, gifts, reunion, music, and symbols.

We can move higher in our understanding of vigilance. We are not just recalling an old event. We are not just retelling Christmas story. Advent reminds us to be watchful for opportunities to meet the Lord Jesus in our daily life. He, who has come two thousand years ago, is still present among us and comes to us today in many ways. The Lord may knock on our hearts today in the form of a little child, an old woman, or a common-looking person.

We are also being reminded today of our ultimate goal – to meet the Lord. We are eager to meet famous personalities. We get excited when a well-known actor, actress, or boxer is about to arrive. We spend so much energy and time to prepare for the coming of a politician. How much more eager should we be when we are about to meet the Lord?

If we do not want to meet anybody, it is because we are unprepared, ashamed, afraid, or feel unworthy. The Good News is that the Lord is eager to meet us and wants to come among us, even the way we are now. If the Lord is eager to meet us, even as we are, we naturally would like to make ourselves and our homes more presentable to Him.

My dear people, Advent is the time for us to make this preparation by repenting for our sins, by renewing our lives through prayer, penance, and by sharing our blessings with others. Advent also provides an opportunity for us to check for what needs to be put right in our lives, to see how we have failed, and to assess the ways in which we can do better. Let us remember the words of Alexander Pope: “What does it profit me if Jesus is reborn in thousands of cribs all over the world and not reborn in my heart?”

Jesus must be reborn in our hearts and lives, during this season of Advent, and every day of our lives, in our love, in our kindness, in our mercy and in our forgiveness. Then only we will be able to give people his hope by caring for those in need, give them his peace by turning the other cheek when we are provoked, give them his love by encouraging those who are feeling sad or tired, and give them His joy by encouraging and helping those who feel at the end of their strength, by showing them that we care and that God cares as well. When we do these kinds of things we will receive hope, peace, love, and joy in return. Then we will know that when the King, our Lord Jesus returns on the clouds of glory, we will be ready for him.

The Lord has fulfilled His promise to come among us (Jr. 33: 14-16). May we also take the time to conduct ourselves in a manner that pleases God (1 Thes 4:1) God is faithful. Let us also be faithful. Let our prayer during Advent season be, “Maranatha”. Come Lord Jesus, come! Amen

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