First Sunday of Advent - 2014

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/113014.cfm

Quick recap:

1st Reading - Isaiah - recognition of God's wrath with the sinful people

Psalm 80 - Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Epistle - 1 Corinthians - God's grace and faithfulness

Gospel - "Be watchful! Be alert!" We do not know when the master will return.

Let the chaos ensue! Now that Advent has begun, it's like there is a giant stopwatch ticking down the days until Christmas. Unfortunately, instead of helping us prepare our spirits for the season, it tends to remind us of how many shopping days we have, and our limited time to do everything we think we must do perfectly before we can celebrate. I'm not saying that we don't have legitimate things to accomplish, but Christmas is about more than giving a certain quota of gifts. In my experience, if I take my eyes off of the purpose of Advent, I can become stressed, distracted, and worn out.  

In today's Gospel, we are commanded to pay attention, "Be watchful! Be alert! Watch!" This is a great time to re-focus, stop and take some quiet time to reconnect with our Lord. Trust me - this is a good thing to do!