May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
Today we begin the
season of preparation. Today we begin
again. Each year the Church gives us
this season to watch and to wait. Each
year we are given this time to prepare to meet the Lord again on Christmas day.
In this season of Advent, we keep watch
for the One who keeps his promise.
It was a promise at the
dawn of creation. It was the promise
made to Abraham and to our fathers. It
was the promise announced by the prophets.
It is the promise of the Redeemer, the promise of love and mercy flowing
from the heavens and raining down upon the earth. This promise of the love of God that no eye
has seen and no ear has heard is made to you and to me. We shall prepare to receive it, dear brothers
and sisters. We shall be prepared to receive
it with the gifts of grace that the Spirit has poured out upon us, enriching us
in every way. We shall keep watch for
the One who keeps his promise.
We do not know how long
we will have to wait. We do not know the
day or the hour. These things are kept
in the mystery of eternity and set by the authority of the Father. But we shall keep watch for his coming. We shall remain like the angels who stand
before the throne of the Most High God and worship him night and day. We shall remain before him who possesses all
times and all seasons. We shall keep
watch for the One who keeps his promise.
And the promise to
return in glory when the gift to the Father is fully prepared is met by the promise
to remain with us always, even until the end of the age. We shall keep watch with the One who keeps his promise.
Even as we watch for the full revelation of the promise of Jesus Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ remains with us. Heaven
breaks open and we hear the voice of the Lord proclaiming his word in the
Sacred Scriptures. Heaven breaks open
and the offering of Jesus Christ is made present on the altar. Heaven breaks open and the body before which
angels bow in lowly reverence becomes our food.
Heaven breaks open and we cry out in praise of the Father’s glory.
Today we begin the
season of preparation. Today we begin
again. We shall keep watch for the One who
keeps his promise.
Come Lord Jesus. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
