Exiit qui seminat - Advent

As we've discussed over the years, Advent has two parts to the season. While the more popular aspect of Advent is preparing for the Birth of Christ (Weeks 3-4), the real "meat" of the season happens in the first two weeks when we prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. The problem is that for so many of us Jesus' coming in glory at the end of time seems so distant and so remote - something that won't happen in our lifetimes or something that is meant for the generations to come. We have so many necessary earthly concerns that distract us and as a people of faith, we are often lured into complacency by convincing ourselves that we think about heaven tomorrow. But what God is asking us is to think about heaven today. The challenge of this Advent is to make the Second Coming not something that will happen in the future, but rather something that we are preparing for in the present. Now this does not mean that we have to transform ourselves into a spiritual version of "doomsday preppers", but it couldn't hurt to adopt the attitude from Luke's Gospel: "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.” Another helpful approach is to start each day by simply asking the Lord what He has in store for us. By asking what God has planned for our day we are recognizing both that the Lord is in charge of our lives and that we are willing and engaged participants in that plan. We recognize what the Lord longs for each of us - to be with Him forever in heaven. So let us be serious about the Second Coming by being serious about serving the Lord today. 

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Fr. Rob Sinatra