Let the Lord Strengthen Your Heart 1st Sunday of Advent

Happy New (Liturgical) Year! It’s Year C of the liturgical cycle. The New Year for the church gets underway with the season of Advent. These four weeks prepare us for the coming of Christ.

Think of the coming of Christ as that of getting our home ready for guests. There needs to be cleaning, food, and drinks ready to be served. We need to get our interiors in order. Christ tells us in the Gospel of Luke, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy

from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life,  and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.”

The message that Christ wants us to understand is that we must rise above the anxieties of our lives. Advent is a time for us to prepare for his coming. How do we prepare for him? We do so by receiving the sacraments especially that of his mercy.

When we prepare for guests, we must get our house or wherever the banquet will take place in order by cleaning, setting up, and preparing food. When we prepare for Christ to arrive in our hearts, we seek his mercy, which was given to us freely. In turn, we do works of mercy, read spiritual books, and keep vigilant.

As a fan of Rocky, he was given words by his trainer, Apollo Creed, when he wanted to give up on regaining his title with the words, “There is no tomorrow.”

As we embark on the season of preparing room for Christ in our hearts, let’s make an effort to go to confession, pray more during this season of preparation, put our faith in action, and look to this new year with hope in his coming.

Happy New Liturgical Year, fellow Catholics. Let’s light up the world with our faithful witness.