I love our liturgical year, with the different liturgical seasons and feast days that we celebrate throughout the year. Today, we mark the beginning of the new liturgical year with the celebration of the first Sunday of Advent. We now have the liturgical color of purple, signifying a time of preparation and repentance. For the Sunday Mass readings, we are now in Cycle C. Many Catholics do not realize that the Daily Mass readings are on a different two year cycle. We are entering Year 2 for our Daily Mass readings this year.
Today’s readings urge us to be vigilant and to stay faithful for the coming judgment of the Lord. In the early Church, Christ’s followers believed that he would return soon after his ascension, certainly during their lifetime. The hope they placed in the Lord coming back again had a profound influence on their faith, as the end of the book of Revelation states: “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.”
Even though we are still waiting for the Lord to come again, this first part of the Advent season reminds us that it is still important to be prepared - not only for Christ’s birth at Christmas, but also for when he will return one day to judge all of humanity. Until that day, we prepare and wait.
Luke’s Gospel tells us today to be vigilant at all times. The things of the earth will pass away, but the God’s promises and Christ love will never pass away. In November, we commemorated the month of remembrance, in which we prayed in a special way with the community of saints who have already entered eternal life. We prayed for our loved ones and family members who have entered eternal life with God, whose names we inscribed on our prayer cloth and our book of remembrance. This reminds us how things on earth are constantly changing. Even in the changing of the seasons, the hot humid months here in Mississippi have now given way to the winter. Things change here on earth, but even with those changes, we are to remain vigilant and prepared in our faith. We are to stay focused on Jesus and the values of God’s kingdom.
Today, we light the first candle of our Advent wreath. The circular shape of the wreath represents God's infinite love and the eternity of our human soul. The circle has no beginning or end, symbolizing the everlasting life we have in Christ. The evergreen branches of the wreath represent the hope we place in our eternal life with God. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. The lit candles represent the light of God that will come into the world at Christmas. The candles will be lit each weekend in Advent, helping us mark the days of this holy season. The purple candles symbolize hope and peace. The rose colored candle represents joy.
Blessings to all of you as we start our Church’s new liturgical year and as we commemorate this beginning of the holy season of Advent. May our hearts be fixed on what lasts forever.
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