First Sunday of Advent

Advent begins! A new liturgical year begins! A new lectionary cycle begins anchored in the Gospel of Matthew.

Our parish advent theme is:  STAY AWAKE -- staying awake to the presence of God in everyday life.

To stay awake is to stay awake to the spiritual center that is within each one of us.  To stay awake is to pay attention to that which really matters in life -- paying attention to our relationships with each other and paying attention to our relationship with God.  Within us, there is a deeper longing that never goes away.  It is a longing for love.  It is the longing to experience the mystery of God's love in our life.

The Advent season is our spiritual department of homeland security to help us recognize the Lord in our midst coming at a time we least expect.  In fact, Advent is more than a season of four weeks. Advent is a way of life lived in watchfulness to the God who comes -- not just on Christmas but everyday.

Today's first reading from Isaiah contains the compelling yet elusive dream of world peace, words carved on the wall of the United Nations Building in New York.  "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall  not raise the sword against another; nor shall they train for war again."  May the Prince of Peace transform us into being a people of peace,

We also welcomed Nicole Diehl into our RCIA -- the process of welcoming candidates into full initiation into the Catholic Church.

In this Advent season, we as a parish seek to help each other to STAY AWAKE to the presence of God in our midst.