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Today the Church celebrates the First Sunday of Advent. This is the beginning of a new liturgical year and the readings will be taken from Cycle B. The Advent liturgy opens with that great yearning cry of the prophets of Israel to the Messiah and Redeemer whose advent they awaited. "Come!" God is not deaf to His people's cry. Fulfilling the promise of salvation made to our first parents at their fall He sent His Son into the world. And the application to all generations of mankind of the redemption that the Son of God made Man obtained for us by His passion continues until the end of time: it will conclude with the end of the world when the Messiah comes to complete His work and lead us into His kingdom. The history of the Church occupies the period between these two great events.

In the Mass of this Sunday the whole work of redemption is set before us, from its preparation in Israel's expectancy and its effect on our present lives down to its final fulfillment. The Church, in preparing us to celebrate at Christmas the birth of Him who came to snatch our souls from sin and transform them into the likeness of His own, invokes upon us and on all men the complete accomplishment of the mission of salvation that He came to perform upon this earth.

On the first Sunday of Advent, the traditional opening prayer (or Collect) prayed: "Stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come." With this request to God to "stir up" His might, this day was traditionally called Stir-Up Sunday. Many families create a traditional plum pudding or fruit cake or some other recipe that all the family and guests can "stir-up." This activity of stirring-up the ingredients symbolizes our hearts that must be stirred in preparation for Christ's birth.

Jesse Tree ~ Creation

Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7. The prophet instructs us that there is still time to repent of our sins and to make ourselves worthy of all that Christmas means. We are the adopted sons of the Father of infinite mercy. If, truly repentant, we turn to him he will forgive us and make us worthy to be his children and call him by the loving name of Father.

The second reading is from the first Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 1:3-9. This letter is an answer to reports concerning disputes and difficulties of the Church in Corinth that had reached the ears of St. Paul. It was written from Ephesus in 57 AD.

The Gospel is from St. Mark 13:33-37. The end of the world is known only to God. It is his secret. He has not told us for some very good reason. But we do know that the end of this world for each one of us is at the moment of his death. When I breathe my last I shall have ended my stay in this world. I shall enter the new future world which I know exists. However, the knowledge of that moment is also hidden from me, and again for very good reasons. If many Christians knew the day and hour of their death, they would postpone their conversion until that last moment. This, of course, would be extreme foolishness, but the world is full of folly. What guarantee have such "unfaithful servants" that they will be given the grace of conversion at that last moment? What reward could such a selfish servant expect of the good Lord? There have been death-bed conversions-the good thief on the cross is an example-but such converts did not willingly postpone their conversion.

The moment of our death is kept secret from us so that the naturally lazy and dilatory amongst us will see the need for being ever on the alert. When we realize what God the Father and Christ have done for us we should feel ashamed at our lack of generosity in God's service. We are expected to serve God willingly and faithfully every moment of our lives. But God knows the clay of which we are made, hence Christ's words of warning to all of us. Most of us do what we should out of a sense of gratitude to God, at least for our own self-interest. We all wish to get to heaven, and to do so we must be found worthy at the moment of death. That all-important moment is hidden from us and the only way to make sure of being found worthy then is to strive to be worthy always.

"Watch!" then, is Christ's advice and command. We know not the year or the day or the hour when our master will call us. That year, day and hour will be unexpected, even if we are advanced in years or have been suffering from prolonged illness. We shall not be unprepared for it if we have tried all our lives to be faithful to Christ and to our Christian faith.

This holy season of Advent is an opportune time for each one of us to look into his life and see how he stands with God. Christmas should remind us of the second coming of Christ, which will be very soon for all of us. Let us ask today: how would I fare if I were called from this world today? Could I expect to get honors, or even a pass, in my examination? Would I meet Christ as a loving brother and Savior or as a stern judge who would be forced to condemn me? If, in all honesty, most of us would find much lacking in our preparedness, we have still time to put things right. While we are in this world, God is not a stem judge but a merciful Father. He is ever ready to welcome the prodigal son provided the prodigal returns home. Today is the day to return to God. Today is the day in which to decide our future eternal state. There may be no tomorrow.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

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