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Men of Epiphany will be meeting this Saturday, December 2nd, 6:30 a.m. in the Hearth room. If you can make it, this study is a marvelous preparation for each week's Mass readings.

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Advent, A Time to Watch and Pray and a Time of Vigilance

Sunday, December 3, 2006
First Sunday of Advent
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5,8-10,14
1 Thessalonians 3:12–4:2
Luke 21:25-28,34-36

Click here for readings  (For quick review only; bring your Bible)

Be vigilant . . . and pray. (Luke 21:36)

What better way to begin Advent than with an encouragement to watch and pray? But if Jesus said that even he didn’t know the hour of his return, what good will our watching do? No matter how vigilant we may be, the final day will still come like a “thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Perhaps the best answer is that we should be watching over our own lives, asking how we can become more like Jesus.

Advent is the perfect time to put in some extra vigilance in this area. We could ask ourselves: If Jesus were to come back today, is there anything in my life that might cause me to be ashamed or uncomfortable? Are there attitudes in my heart that are not pleasing to the Lord?

Did one or two areas come to mind just now? That could be the Holy Spirit pointing out an issue you should focus on this Advent. Let’s take a practical example. If you would be embarrassed for Jesus to see you with a bad temper when he returns, then decide this Advent that you are going to focus on watching your sharp tongue and on holding on to the peace of Christ. Ask Jesus for his grace to help you control your emotions when you feel anger rising up. You may want to keep a log in your prayer journal of times when you were tempted to say or do something out of anger but you bit your tongue instead.

How will we know that our Advent vigilance has paid off? On Christmas Day, we will find ourselves standing a little taller, with our heads held a little higher—not because we have done something wonderful on our own but because we have experienced the power of God’s mercy to transform our lives.

“Holy Spirit, search me and show me where you want me to be more vigilant this Advent. I ask for the grace to experience your transforming power so that I am ready for Jesus whenever he comes back.”

Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men

1.    The first reading opens with these words of great promise and warning: “The days are coming, says the Lord, …” As you prepare your hearts to celebrate Christmas this year, what steps can you take to receive the Lord into your life in a deeper way?

2.    In the Responsorial Psalm, we ask God to “make known” to us his “ways,” to “teach” us his “paths”, and to “guide” us in his “truth” (Psalm 25:4-5). In what ways does God teach and reveal his intentions to you? What additional steps can you take each day, and especially during Advent, to be more attentive to his promptings?

3.    In the second reading, St. Paul says that loving one another is the key to “being blameless in holiness” at the “coming of our Lord Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13). Why is there such a strong relationship between love and being ready to receive Christ at his “coming”? What are some practical steps you can take to demonstrate more deeply Christ’s love, and your love, to your family and to others? In what way will this love in action help them to be more ready to receive Christ?

4.    In the Gospel, we also hear words that speak of the signs that will arise at the end of the world, the final return of Christ. We are cautioned to be vigilant, so that day doesn’t catch us “by surprise like a trap” (Luke 21:34). Sin causes us not to be vigilant. What does being vigilant mean to you? What are some things you can do to root out areas of sin and temptation in your life?

5.    In the meditation, we are asked these questions: “If Jesus were to come back today, is there anything in my life that might cause me to be ashamed or uncomfortable? Are there attitudes in my heart that are not pleasing to the Lord?” The meditation goes on to ask us to identify one or two areas that came to mind. Share these areas with each another. Are you willing to pray for one another for the grace to overcome the areas identified? How else can you support one another?

Come Holy Spirit!  ~  Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and en kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, you taught the hearts of your faithful by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit. In that same spirit give us your right judgment and the joy of your consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayer to St. Joseph  ~  Glorious St. Joseph, guide and protector of the Holy Family, we ask that you obtain for us from your son, Jesus, the strength and wisdom to lead our families to their Father in heaven. Most Chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we imitate your obedience to the will of God and be ever mindful of the vocation to which we have been called. Amen