Sunday, November 30, 2014 1st Sunday of Advent 1st Reading: Isaiah 63:16-17,19; 64:2-7 2nd Reading: 1st Corinthians 1:3-9 Gospel: Mark 13:33-37 Jesus said to his disciples, “Be alert and watch, for you don’t know when the time will come. When a man goes abroad and leaves his home, he puts his servants in charge, giving to each one some responsibility; and he orders the doorkeeper to stay awake. So stay awake, for you don’t know when the Lord of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight, when the cock crows or before dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him catch you asleep. “And what I say to you, I say to all: watch.” D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE (Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience) The season of Advent opens a new Liturgical calendar with this alarm: “Be alert and watch, for you don’t know when the time will come.” The time to prepare for could be the end of this finite world or the end of our life, whichever comes first. Since death is more likely to come first, it is beneficial for us to interpret today’s Gospel warning as referring to our individual death. This may sound incongruent with the Christmas spirit in the air. But if we go for something substantial to give meaning to Christmas, reflecting about death is in order. The Advent Liturgy itself will give forceful warnings about the end, starting this Sunday. Because of the stark contrast between the joy of Christmas and the melancholy of death, two things can happen. Either melancholy dampens our excitement over the coming of Christmas, or the excitement over Christmas takes us away from a serious Advent reflection. We strive to integrate the two themes so that the Advent reflections on the fleetingness of this lifetime become a thorough preparation and increase our capacity to absorb grace this Christmas. The Church will also provide us with the right ambience. You will notice that in all liturgical celebrations within the advent season, the mood is subdued. There will be no flowers at the altar, and there will be lesser musical instruments used in the singing. Colors will also be subdued. The priest will use violet and the same color will be used on the altar cloth to evoke the spirit of repentance. Take note that violet is also the color of the dead. Why the similarity? When somebody dies in the family and death literally comes closer to home, family members grapple with the reality of death. The event, if well reflected upon, can inspire family members and friends of the decedent to repent in preparation for this unavoidable reality. In this sense death in the family is a personal Advent Season calling them to spiritual preparation. This explains the similarity of symbols used. Our vigilance finds perfect symbolism in the four candles of the advent wreath representing the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The color is violet to symbolize repentance. The candle colored pink is lighted on the third Sunday to symbolize the growing intensity of our expectation as the end of preparation nears. Like the candles, our vigilance should consume us in good works much as candles are consumed while giving light to the world. The season of advent is too short, as short as life itself. If we don’t’ start preparing now, when? - - Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail. Website: frdan.org. PRAYER FOR THE DAY; God our Father, may our program of repentance cleanse our hearts to give room for Jesus whose coming we celebrate at Christmas. Grant this through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. Title : First Sunday of Advent CHURCH BULLETIN: SAINT OF THE DAY: ST. ANDREW, Apostle. He was the brother of St. Peter. He was a disciple of St. John the Baptist before he joined Jesus of Nazareth. He was a fisherman; hence he is venerated as the patron of fishermen. According to tradition he was crucified at Patras, in Greece on an X-shaped cross, from where he preached to the people for two days before he died. Cebu Archdiocese Official Homepage CEBUARCHDIOCESE.WORDPRESS.COM
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 05:34:41 +0000
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