Homily for the First Sunday of Advent

To begin this season of Advent, I’d like to ask all of you a couple questions to think about between now and Christmas. First question: if we knew when Jesus would return, how would you act and what would you do as that day drew closer? We know that Jesus’ return leads to the judgment of how faithful we were in following Him, so would you take the steps necessary to be on His good side, like receiving the Sacraments and praying? Hopefully, we all would, but perhaps not all would make the effort.

Second question: since all of us will likely live out our whole lives before Jesus comes again, how would you behave if you knew the day and time of your death? Would you spend those last moments preparing for eternal life? Again, I think most people would, but not all.

We have entered into the season of Advent, a time which is commonly thought of as a period of preparation for the celebration of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas. Most of us use this season to decorate our houses, buy gifts, and make travel plans, but that’s not the only purpose of the Advent season. We also celebrate Advent every year as a time of preparation for Our Lord’s return at the end of the world. This season is a reminder for us, as Jesus Himself says in the Gospel today, to “stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” (Mt 24:42)

I asked the two questions at the beginning because those are the questions we should be asking ourselves throughout the Advent season. We need to seriously contemplate whether our lives, as we live them now, are in accord with Our Lord’s commands for His disciples. If they’re not, this is as good a time as any to wake up our faith. As St. Paul puts it, “it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (Rom 13:11) Remember, it is the hour now, not tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year.

Advent truly is a time for us to wake up, spiritually. It’s easy to allow our spiritual life to fall asleep by just doing the bare minimums. You could go to Mass every week, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation once a year, and have a spiritual life that has gone to sleep from boredom and lack of use. Just as lack of physical or mental exertion can lead to physical boredom and drowsiness, a lack of spiritual exertion can lead to a drowsy spiritual life.

So, how do we wake up our spiritual lives? By exercising them! As the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah put it, “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may walk in His paths.” (Is 2:3) We wake up our spiritual lives by actively engaging them, resolving to grow and stretch our faith.

Just as we make New Year’s resolutions, we can make New Liturgical Year’s resolutions. A great way to wake up a spiritual life is to find and practice one of the many private devotions available, such as the Rosary, the different litanies of prayer, or Divine Mercy Chaplet. If a whole Rosary seems a bit daunting, even just praying an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be several times a day can do wonders. We can resolve to learn more about our faith, seeking out books and materials, like the Lighthouse Catholic CDs, to raise us from the basic education many of us have in what it means to follow Christ. Of course, being attentive at Mass – participating fully through responses and listening attentively to prayers, readings, and homily – is the best way to an energized spiritual life.

Our challenge for Advent is best summarized by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans: “Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. […] Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” (Rom 13:12, 14) We need to throw off those practices in our lives which put our spiritual lives to sleep, and prepare for Our Lord’s return by putting on those practices which can wake them up. So, the challenge for us this Advent season is simple: Wake up!