November 30, 2025
Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
Isn’t it amazing how quickly the retail world transitioned from Halloween to Christmas? Instead of the green, red, and gold that you see everywhere else, your parish welcomes you with the color violet. Why? For many, violet is the color of the sky just after the darkest hour of night that offers a hint that dawn is nearing the horizon. You will also see a wreath with four candles with only one lit this weekend. This means we are clearly keeping vigil and we have four weeks to go.
Instead of launching straight into Christmas after Thanksgiving, we recognize there is another season in between, sometimes a forgotten season, the season of Advent. Let’s reflect on two themes the Season of Advent explores. The first theme unites our hearts with the ancient Hebrews who kept vigil for centuries awaiting the coming of the Messiah. The second theme of Advent calls us all to keep vigil for the return of Jesus at the end of time when he will judge the living and the dead. Both themes say loud and clear: we are mortal, and our time is limited. We are sinners and we need a savior. We need Jesus.
You see, as we enter the holiday season filling up our plates and shopping carts with holiday treats, Jesus gives us an important perspective this time of year. Jesus says, “You must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” St. Paul also gives us a reminder, “Brothers and Sisters, you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed, the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light”. Jesus and St. Paul are challenging us to be prepared, because the end times will arrive when we least expect. At first glance, this message might be cause for additional stress however keeping God first is, in fact, the best remedy for anxiety.
I mention this because this time of year can stressful for many. There is much that we feel like we need to do, we feel a bit like Martha running around when what we really need to be doing is to be a little bit more like Mary. During the holidays, in the impatient rush to buy presents, bake cookies, and watch football, we are reminded to fill our hearts with something more. We are reminded to consider filling our souls with something better, with why this season is important in the first place. What are some practical ways we can reduce the stress of this season?
I challenge us to take at least five additional minutes each day in prayer during this season of Advent so to not let Christmas catch us by surprise. How many years does it seem like we blink our eyes and Christmas is already here? Christmas will be so much more meaningful for all of us if we just take at least five minutes each day to contemplate the reason for the season. How you spend this prayer time is up to each one of us. We can spend a few minutes with the Gospel according to St. Matthew as we are going to be spending time with this Gospel throughout this new liturgical year. We gave out the little blue prayer books to help us with this too.
Another option could be lighting a candle each night and perform an examination of conscience and ask for God’s wisdom, mercy, and love. There are an infinite number of ways we can spend at least five additional minutes each day in prayer during this season of Advent to prepare the way for the Lord.
In fact, during the season of Advent, it would be a good practice to perform one random act of kindness toward someone, maybe someone different, every day. It could be a kind word to a neighbor, or it could be a gift to a needy child, the options are endless. At the end of the day one could say, “Lord, it was a stressful day…but I did this one act of kindness for someone that only you know about.”
The message this Sunday is that the Lord is coming! And this event is more important than anything we could ever hope for, so it is time to break out our Advent Wreaths, Advent Calendars and Jesse Trees. Jesus calls us to be prepared because he says he is going to come when we least expect. Therefore, our whole lives are nothing short of an Advent. The word Advent means arrival or coming. Our very lives are therefore a vigil for the Creator of the universe who fashioned us. Our whole lives are a quest for our good and gracious God who alone can satisfy the yearnings of the human heart. Let’s focus more on that this month because Advent is an important season for the soul. The first candle on our Advent Wreath in church is lit and we are challenged to light a candle in our hearts. As the days get darker and darker, we are a people who must keep watch for the light of the world on the horizon. We keep watch and heed the Lord’s invitation: be prepared!
Peace,
Fr. Steve