First Sunday of Advent – Year C 

Collect 

Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Lectio Divina

Today’s Gospel, the first in this new liturgical year and in the holy season of Advent, reminds us from the outset that this is not just a time that leads to the celebration of the Son of God’s first coming amongst us. It also reminds us that as a Christian community we are continually called to be prepared for his second coming, a glorious coming, in which he will judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. Being human, we witness things in our world that fill our hearts with worry and fear: war, sickness, issues at work, family issues, and many other difficulties. We have certainly heard at some point in our lives that difficult moments can have two opposing effects on us: they either break us or they build us up. In light of this, today’s Gospel invites us as Christians not to become slaves to fears, worries and anxieties that continually try to control our lives. It reminds us that we must always live in expectation of the Lord’s coming in glory at the end of time. But we must also long for his coming into every aspect of our lives to fill us with his light and sanctify even the darkest corners in our lives. 

However, as fire needs to be stoked for it to remain lit, it is necessary that this hope is kept alive, even in difficult times that seem insurmountable. In today’s Gospel, Jesus himself provides us with the tool to accomplish this: prayer. Prayer is necessary so as not to enter into temptation. It is also necessary when we pass through trials and temptations, so that we can overcome “all that is about to happen, and … be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Therefore, the holy season of Advent is a time of preparation by means of prayer rooted in God’s Word which is presented to us daily in the liturgy and is so inspiring and abundant. To accompany us on this journey we also have a person who is central in it: Our Lady, who even in difficult and trying times, remained always the servant of the Lord, keeping all things she experienced in her heart and remaining resolute in her search and accomplishment of God’s will in her life.  

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, being human, when we look around us and within us, we are easily filled with fear and worry. We do not always feel we have the strength to fight the difficulties that life challenges us with.  

In light of your Word given to us today, teach us, we pray, to raise our eyes and fortify our hearts so that we may remain strong in the hope that you are near to us and that you always keep your promises. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus.