The theme for this First Sunday of Advent is always this: be ready, be alert, and be ready at all times to meet your God.  Advent is a wake-up call to be attentive to what is going on in our world and see the presence of God in our midst.  God is present here and now in our lives and as Catholics the challenge of Advent is to keep our hearts open to his presence and even more importantly as Catholics our calling will always be to help others see God’s presence. 
 
So, as we enter this season of Advent, I invite each of us to not only see the signs of God’s presence, but also to be the signs.  And I offer a few quick suggestions on how we might do that. 

1. First take advantage of the Advent Penance Service tomorrow evening starting at 5:30pm and going until everyone who is in line by 6:30pm is finish celebrating the Sacrament.  Your presence is a sign that while there have been times that you’ve failed to be aware of God in your life; you have a sincere desire at the beginning of Advent to seek his forgiveness and deepen your awareness of his love. 
2. Take home a Vigil Project CD and use the beautiful music and reflections to guide your Advent journey. 
3. Join the Sunday School for Disciples (every Sunday at 10am in the Meeting Room) as we learn how the saints reacted to their experience of God in their lives. 
4. Take five minutes every morning to review your day.  What challenges do you think you’ll be facing?  Ask God for a deeper sense that he will be with you throughout the day. 
5. As we begin a new church year, we turn to St. Matthew for most of our Sunday gospels.  Take 10 minutes and read a chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. There are 24 days until Christmas and 28 chapters in Matthew, so you should be able to finish it. By Christmas morning, we will be ready to celebrate with thankfulness and praise the Coming of the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us. 
6. At least one day a week join me for Adoration from 7:10am to 7:40am, Monday through Thursday, stay for the Rosary at 7:40am, stay at 8am.  I’ll be happy for you to take me to breakfast after Mass. 
7. Perform a totally new act of charity this year. Reach out and surprise someone with the unexpected love of God.  Do something to make the reality of God’s love more present in your world. 
8. Take another five minutes at the end of the day and make a Christmas list. Not a list of things to buy, or things to do, or things you want; but a list of blessings in your life, a list of people you love and who love you in spite of yourself, a list of the signs of God’s presence in your life. After you’ve made your list, pray a prayer of thanks for each thing on the list. 

The Advent challenge is to face into our spiritual poverty.  I know you will continue to decorate, and shop, and party.  But I’d also hope that this year you’ll resist the urge to totally bypass Advent. Find some time in the next few weeks to look within — to pray more deeply and converse more intimately with the One who is coming. Ask Him: How can I prepare for you? What can I do to welcome you into my life?  If all of us do that, we may be surprised at the answer.
 
Next Sunday, December 8th, is the Second Sunday of Advent, but when it doesn’t fall on a Sunday, December 8 ^th is the Feast Day of our National Patron, Mary Immaculate.  It is always a Holy Day because America is under the protection of Mary.  When this conflict arises, the Church transfers the Feast to the following Monday, December 9 ^th.  And to my warped little mind if you wanted to keep everything nice and tidy with exactly 9 months between Mary’s conception and birth, the Church should transfer Mary’s Birthday to September 9 ^th next year, but it will still be on September 8 ^th.  But I digress, it is still the National Feast Day for Americans and still a serious sin to miss Mass on a Holy Day or Sunday without a grave reason (e.g. bed ridden by illness).  Masses will be at 8am and 6pm on Monday, December 9 ^th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.