Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 29, 2014 - Saturday in the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 22:1-7 and Luke 21:34-36]"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....Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man." [Luke]
Today is the last day of the liturgical year. Tomorrow [or at the Vigil Mass today] will be the First Sunday of Advent, a new year in the church calendar! The somber parting words from the Gospel of Luke will be exchanged for similar words from the Gospel of Mark! The anticipation will be different, however. From questions about the Second Coming of Jesus, we move to anticipation about his first coming - his birth! Yet the message is the same: Be ready!
How can anyone escape the "anxieties of daily life?" Just how long can a person be "vigilant," like a parent waiting for a child to come home at night? The task seems like a life-long effort. To that I have to say, "Yes, it's a life-long effort, but a very possible one." This weekend I begin a parish mission, the first of three in Advent, and I hope to offer to the People of God a way to maintain "readiness." We start with realizing how important our baptism is. Then we make the intentional effort to pray, to learn, to love and to serve. These do not require intense effort all the time, but they do require regular effort. Each of those four efforts can help us see our way through the "anxieties of daily life" and maintain our strength. How am I praying? How am I learning? How am I loving? How am I serving? I will offer those four questions to be considered to them and to you. AMEN
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