1st Sunday of Advent

Living in Watchfulness!

Our parish’s theme for Advent is Living in Watchfulness; Waiting in Wonder. Watching is different than waiting. Waiting is rather passive; watching implies activity and engagement. When we watch we pay keen and sharp attention. We are alert with all of our senses and ready for Jesus to come into our lives and into our world. We don’t just wait for life to happen, we are helping with the building of the Reign of God on earth.

Watching and being ready for Jesus to come into our lives means that we are spending some extra time in silence and in prayer. We pray that we become more and more aware of what is being born in our personal lives, in our family lives, in our community, and in our parish. How is Jesus coming to life in me? How am I awakening a knowledge of Jesus in my children and in my marriage or my vocation? What light is the coming of Jesus shedding on the events in our world today? Are we passively waiting for it all to get better or are we working to be beacons of compassion and voices of justice?

Jesus tells his disciples and us to not be found sleeping! Living in watchfulness means being a light in the darkness, creating paths to peace, promoting reconciliation and generating new hope for all. One way to do that is to participate in our Taizé prayer experience this evening, Dec. 1 at 7 pm in the church. It’s an excellent opportunity to practice living in watchfulness.