Be Watchful! Be Alert!
Be Watchful! Be Alert! You do not know when the time will come. Mark 13:33
I have decided to do a type of penance this advent season and will be writing some daily meditations. My hope is that whoever reads these will gain something from them and maybe reflect on my personal thoughts, the Bible verses I associate with them and the prayers I post.
It's Dec 3, 2017 and Advent or the Christmas season is here. It is a season that many of us long for every year, but also dread. During this time of year, starting on "Black Friday" and running through Christmas Eve, you do not have to look very hard to see the hardness in peoples hearts.
The Christmas season is no longer about preparing for the birth of our Lord Jesus, but more about, " How can I get the best deal?" People are more concerned over objects and doing whatever they can to get it, than they are about what they can do for their fellow man. They become rude and abusive not only to other people shopping, but also to the people working behind the counter. They do not stop and think about the stresses everyone else is dealing with and are only concerned about themselves and what they want. Businesses are more concerned about making money than they are about allowing their employees to spend time with family. We have lost the real reason of Advent.
Instead of treating others with hostility this year and worrying about what gifts we are going to receive from friends and family, or what gifts we are going to get for them, lets focus on treating others with love and kindness and on what gifts we can give to our Lord and the many gifts he has given to us. This is the time of year we celebrate the birth of our Lord. Jesus really is the reason of the season.
Isaiah 63:16-17, 19
Isaiah 64:2-7
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Prayer
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray!
Come, O Blessed Spirit of
Wisdom, strengthen my faith,
increase my hope, perfect my
charity.
Father, enlighten us each day,
in the silence of our hearts,
to discern the voice of your
Spirit, to do what he asks of us
and to understand the gifts he
freely gives us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
*Prayer taken from The Catholic Youth Prayer Book, Second Edition, Page 68
