Before anything else, preparation is the key to success // Alexander Graham Bell Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. You will have probably heard this from your teachers or maybe from your sport's coaches. Preparation is key. We know this though right? That if something is important we have to prepare for it. Think of a school presentation...or if you were going to run a half marathon... there's no way you would go into either without some prep time first, that's just crazy right? In the First Reading we hear the words of preparation given to the people of Israel. They are words of prophesy. They are words of what is to come, or more precisely WHO is to come. We hear of a someone who "does not judge by appearances" does this sound like someone we know? We hear that the spirit of the Lord rests on them... a spirit of wisdom and insight, of counsel and power. It's easy for us to recognise Jesus in this description. He is the glue that the readings talk about. He is the FAITHFULNESS and INTEGRITY that binds things together. Let's face it Jesus is the glue that brings Christmas together, and especially this time of Advent. He is the key to our preparation for Christmas... obviously right?! And so how do we prepare the way, like John the Baptist? Well the Second Reading helps us there. We hear that in the Bible we find examples that are meant to teach us. When was the last time you picked up your Bible? It is God's love letter to us, His people. In order to be more like Jesus, we need to spend time with Him. We can do that in several ways...
1. Go to Mass and meet Jesus face to face in the Eucharist 2. Read the Bible. It is literally the Word of God, divinely inspired! 3. Pray. Have a heart to heart with Jesus. This is a great step by step preparation we can do as we prepare for Christmas. Our Advent 'training plan'. When we do this we imitate Christ more and more - and that is a key part of why Jesus came to us as a person, God incarnate, God made man, so that we could imitate Him. So think this week about your preparations for Christmas, not the gifts, the tree etc, but how you are going to prepare your heart and make a way in your life to welcome Him.
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Wake up!Sometimes we can go through our lives without really living - it can feel like we're doing life 'asleep'. You must of had days like this? You get to evening time and you can't really remember what it is you've done, who you spoke to or even where you've been that day. Life is so busy, with our schedules and our routines, that without realising it we walk around in a kind of daze. We're frazzled! We're non stop! It's usual that in a standard season busy is our normal. But add in December (well make that November, and sometimes October) we have the added busy that is the Christmas season. When it comes to Christmas Prep we have so much on our lists...food, parties, what Advent calendar we're going to have, chocolate, cards, the tree, presents... Theres a big lesson for us to learn in this season of Advent and its all about slowing down and being awake to what is actually going on around us - and what we have at the moment ISN'T CHRISTMAS - it's Advent - and it is a special time in itself. We can be blinded by Christmas and forget to really prepare properly. The Readings at Mass this First Sunday of Advent are an invitation - in the First Reading we hear "Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord' and we see the joy of answering that invitation in the Psalm " I rejoiced when I heard them say, 'Let us go to God's house.'" This Advent God is inviting you into the story - and if you say yes you will also find that joy that the Psalm is talking about. And Jesus reminds us in the Gospel that He is a God of surprises - He tells us to be ready and to wake up. Would we even know if Jesus came to us in the midst of our busy Christmas prep? Im not sure. That's probably why Advent is so important - because if we celebrate Advent well we can be really ready for Christmas. You don't want to miss out on this Season of Advent. Don't blink and miss it - don't deprive yourself of the joy of Advent before we get to the EPIC Christmas joy like this... |
ADVENT with CdÓAdvent...the time set out by the Church for us to prepare our hearts for Christmas. With this in mind we will be focussing on the Sunday Gospel each week and be asking "What are you waiting for?" Allow yourself this Advent to BREATHE...to REFLECT...and to WAIT. Easier said than done in our crazy world where Christmas has been promoted since October - but there is not better witness than YOU. Celebrate Advent well and then Christmas will come alive as a feast where you truly welcome Jesus into your heart ArchivesCategories |