1st Sunday of Advent; 34th Eucharistic Congress

Somebody once said, “There are two things we cannot escape in life — paying taxes and dying.”

- FR. BEL SAN LUIS, SVD

The first is certainly not true because we know too well that there are tax evaders. But with death, that’s a hundred-percent certainty. And, most often, we do not know when it happens.

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The first Sunday of Advent is the beginning of the Church's liturgical calendar. And the call is “be watchful;” “be alert. You do not know when the Lord of the house will come. He may find you sleeping” (Mark 13, 35).

It does not mean that we are literally in a state of dormition. That reminds me of that witty remark: “Some are working hard; others are hardly working.” “Waking up” in the gospel means rising from spiritual slumber and laziness. In short, it is a call for renewal.

As we enter the Church's new year, we would do well to pause and ponder where our life is heading to. Am I making any spiritual progress or am I retrogressing? Or, making a change for the better or worse?

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