One Minute Reflection – 28 November – The First Sunday of Advent – Readings: Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25: 4-5, 8-10, 14; First Thessalonians 3: 12 – 4: 2; Luke 21: 25-28, 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.”- Luke 21:34-35
REFLECTION – “Why is the date of an individual’s death hidden from him? Clearly, it is so that he might always do good, since he can expect to die at any moment.
The date of Christ’s second advent is withheld from the world for the same reason, namely, so that every generation might live in the expectation of Christ’s return. This is why when His disciples asked Him, “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons, which the Father has established by his authority. But know this, that if the head of the household had known the hour at which the thief would arrive, he would have been vigilant and would never have allowed his house to be burglarised.”
The head of the household represents the human soul, the thief is the devil, the house is the body, the doors are the mouth and ears and the windows are the eyes.
Like the thief who gains access through the doors and windows, to despoil the householder, the devil also finds easy access to the soul of a man, through his mouth, ears and eyes, to take him captive. This is why Jeremiah wrote, “For death entered through our windows .. ”
If you wish to be secure, install a bolt on your door, which is to say, put the law of the fear of God in your mouth, so that you can say with the psalmist, “I will guard my ways that I might not sin with my tongue. I will put a guard at my mouth.” – Anonymous ancient Christian writer. The ancient work is known as the ‘Incomplete Work on Matthew’ – (Homily 51)
PRAYER – Holy God, Father Almighty, grant we pray, by the true Light of the world, Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who enlightens all men for their salvation, give us grace to herald His coming, by preparing the ways of justice, love and peace. May the Holy Spirit fill us with all His gifts and virtues, so that we may await the coming of Your Son, guided by His Light and may Mary, the blessed Virgin, accompany us, guarding and giving us her prayerful help. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
AnaStpaul 