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Dear Friend, We spend much of
our time waiting. We wait for a job, we wait for healing, we wait for the
dawn, and we wait in queues for buses and trains. We wait for purchases we
make, and we wait for surfing the internet. Sometimes waiting can be boring
and frustrating, at other times waiting can be exciting and hopeful,
especially when we know what we are waiting for. Have we waited for God? Are
we ready to wait for Him? Are we prepared to wait for a long time until He
comes? Have an eager and exciting weekend awaiting Him! Fr. Jude Botelho |
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One of the key concepts of the Old Testament was
the idea of the ‘covenant’ by which God bound himself to his people, and a
visible symbol of the covenant was the temple in which God dwelt among his
people. In the temple was enshrined the book of
the Law which was meant to guide the behavior of the people. Isaiah in
today’s reading looks forward to the time when the covenant between God and
his people will be extended to all people, where the temple will be the
worshipping place for all mankind. He sees Jerusalem as the focal point where
The second reading from St.
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a wake-up call, and it urges us to turn away
from the darkness of sin and evil and walk into the light of Christ. We can
no longer sleep, for though it is not yet full day, we live no longer in darkness
which favours idleness and dishonesty. If we really believe in Christ, if we
are impatient for our hope to be realized, we must act as people in love with
the light and truth of Christ. To be a Christian is to live in the light and
walk in the light, striving to let His light shine in our lives. Wake-up call In today’s Gospel Christ clearly urges his disciples to stay awake
because we do not know when the Son of Man will return. Each day summons us
to awake from our sleep. Some days we are enthusiastic in anticipating a
great day ahead, on other days we dread the beginning of a new day. Life may
be empty and monotonous for us. We may be unemployed, or retired, sickly or
old and there is nothing to look forward to. No one has a perfect life. All
of us have some difficulty or another. It is how we face life that makes all
the difference. Advent issues a
spiritual wake up call for all of us, and has an awakening power. To be spiritually
awake means to be open, receptive, vigilant and active. To be spiritually
awake is to be attentive to God and others. In today’s Gospel Jesus reminds
us that in the days of Noah people took it easy, they carried on doing the
usual things and were caught off guard when the floods came. Only Noah heeded
the warning and built himself and his family an ark to save them from the
flood. We are not being asked to run out and build a boat to escape, or to
buy a parachute, or construct an anti- raid shelter. We are being asked to
listen to the Lord so that we may walk in his path and live according to his
precepts and commandments. Jesus also talks of the future coming of the Son
of man. We prepare for the future coming by taking responsibility for the present
time. The only way we can prepare for an unpredictable event is to make the
present a time of fidelity. There is time! Three devils were sent to earth to tempt and ruin people. The first
one said: “I will tell them that there is no God.” But Satan, the chief of
the devils said: “That won’t do, for the people know that there is a God.”
The second devil said: “I will proclaim that there is no hell.” “That is not
good enough either because man knows there is hell as a punishment for sin.”
Then the third one said: “I will convince them that there is plenty of time,
So don’t hurry, don’t worry.” “That is an excellent strategy,” said Satan,
“Go and ruin the people.” Anthony Kolencherry in ‘Living the Word’ "The gospel of this Sunday puts us firmly on the alert. It emphasizes the state of unpreparedness, the sense of false security developed with regard to the unforeseeable coming of the Son of Man. As in the days of Noah, people are not troubled, they go about their business. And suddenly the catastrophe will be upon them: they will be taken, surprised in their torpor, careless as they were of what mattered. The comparison of the Lord to one coming in the night brings out clearly the need for constant watchfulness. At every moment of her history the Church is in constant danger of not hearing the one who knocks at the door, knocks in order to waken Christians to the calls of the Spirit. In our time the Church, and individual Christians, still have a prophetic role to play – to rouse a slumbering world which is in danger of losing its soul. How are we to remain watchful, how act so that live in the generous service of God’s kingdom? How are we to go about our affairs so as not to be surprised in the evening of our lives, in the evening of the world, by the judgement of the Lord?” - Glenstal Bible Missal Awake A man came to Buddha and asked him, “Tell me Buddha, are you
a God?” “No, I am not a god.” “Are you an angel?” “No, I am not.” “Are you a
prophet?” “No, not a prophet either.”
“What are you then?” Whereupon Buddha answered… “I am awake.” – Most
of us are not awake. We are always in slumber. We are not aware of our own
thoughts, feelings and actions. We function most of the time, like an
automaton. The enlightened are those who are aware and awake. G. Francis Xavier in ‘Inspiring Stories’ Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot focuses on
two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon. They sit around waiting for the
coming of a mysterious person known only as Godot. As they wait for him they
try to recall what their meeting is all about. They know that it is important
and that their future depends on Godot’s arrival, but that is all that they
can remember. Then two other characters appear on the stage. Vladimir and
Estragon are not sure if either one is Godot since they do not know how to
recognize him. As the play ends Vladimir and Estragon and left alone on a
dark and empty stage, still waiting for Godot to come. –Today’s liturgy ushers the season of
‘Advent’ Advent celebrates our Lord’s coming in three ways: first, in past
history, when he was born a man; second, in the present time, when he comes
at Christmas; third, in the future, when he will return at the end of time.
In a sense, this final and future coming of Christ is a process, one that will
begin for us personally when we die and time will end for us. For the moment,
we are still living in a ‘mean-time’. That is, the time between Christ’s
coming in past history to share our humanity and his coming in the future to
lead us into glory. Lest our waiting in this ‘mean-time’ be empty and
meaningless, as it seemed to be for Vladimir and Estragon in Beckett’s play,
we celebrate an Advent culminating in a Christmas each year to recall why we
are waiting and whom we are awaiting. Another purpose of Advent is to
instruct us how to recognize the Lord’s coming – in the duties we carry out,
or the things that happen to us, or in the people we meet. During Advent we
have to discipline ourselves to see Christ in every one and in every
situation. Our waiting then will not be one of frustration, but rather one of
readiness and anticipation. Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’ May we eagerly wait in anticipation for His coming into our
world! Fr. Jude
Botelho |
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Other Sunday Homily Websites Daily Reflections Immaculate Heart Retreat Center Gospel Commentary from Ireland Daily Scripture |
Recent
Sunday Reflections Thirty-Fourth Sunday of the Year 25-Nov. 2007 Thirty-Third Sunday of the Year 18-Nov. 2007 Thirty-Second Sunday of the Year 11-Nov. 2007 Thirty-First Sunday of the Year 04-Nov. 2007 Thirtieth Sunday of the Year 28-Oct. 2007 Twenty-Nineth
Sunday of the Year 21-Oct. 2007 Twenty-Eight Sunday of the Year 14-Oct. 2007
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