Gospel of Matthew 24:37-44
"Therefore, stay awake! ....you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
For the past month, I haven't slept very well. I toss and turn, often experiencing vivid dreams. Last night a bad nightmare played on my brain's REM sleep channel. (Thanks to the spicy seafood I ate for dinner!) I woke up in the morning groggy and disoriented. I thought it was Monday instead of Sunday. I was totally out of it. Later, I came home from Sunday mass and discovered dog vomit all over my comforter and the floor of two bedrooms. (Yuck!) The dog sick happened overnight while I was engrossed in my sweat-induced nocturnal illusions. This is one time I wish I stayed awake to take care of my sick pet! Obviously I really needed the zzzzzs. Thank the Lord a guardian angel looked after my sweet pooch. All is well now with doggy napping, floor cleaned, and dirty laundry in the wash.
On many occasions we hear the words: "How time flies when we're having fun!" Of course, we all know time flies when we're engaged in a fun activity or a mundane job duty. Seems like time goes by even faster as we age. With more responsibilities and busy schedules, time is a precious resource. A resource that should be used wisely.
I don't have time is probably the #1 excuse why people do not say their daily prayers, attend Mass on a weekly basis, or spend more time with their children. When people are asked to volunteer, I don't have time is a common response. However, people will make the time for enjoyable pleasures - anything from enjoying a cocktail at Happy Hour or watching a football game with the boys.
God blessed us with the gift of time which should be utilized to the fullest. He gave each person a pre-set allotted time to live on earth. We don't know when our life will be taken away. This is why it's so important we spend our time in nourishing, healthy, and holy ways. Drunkenness, sexual exploits, and other "desires of the flesh" may be a "fun" pass time. God won't think it's so special. He will judge us on how well we properly conducted ourselves. One will be taken and one will be left.
Do we take the time to do what's good and beneficial? Do we take the time to help others in need? Do we take the time to visit loved ones? Do we take the time to pray?
Advent is a season of patiently waiting, anticipating the birth of Christ. As Father Alfred Delp, S.J. so eloquently wrote:
The season of Advent is, first of all, the time of man's original religious instinct.....Beyond this general human meaning, Advent has a great historical meaning to the believer, the grateful remembrance of the millennia of God's gracious care that has led man to the fulfillment of his longing for him. Thus the season of Advent clearly reveals the basic meaning of all human events and historical developments: man's way to God, guidance by God, fulfillment in Christ.
*****
"Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." (Isaiah 2:1-5)
-J.
On many occasions we hear the words: "How time flies when we're having fun!" Of course, we all know time flies when we're engaged in a fun activity or a mundane job duty. Seems like time goes by even faster as we age. With more responsibilities and busy schedules, time is a precious resource. A resource that should be used wisely.
I don't have time is probably the #1 excuse why people do not say their daily prayers, attend Mass on a weekly basis, or spend more time with their children. When people are asked to volunteer, I don't have time is a common response. However, people will make the time for enjoyable pleasures - anything from enjoying a cocktail at Happy Hour or watching a football game with the boys.
God blessed us with the gift of time which should be utilized to the fullest. He gave each person a pre-set allotted time to live on earth. We don't know when our life will be taken away. This is why it's so important we spend our time in nourishing, healthy, and holy ways. Drunkenness, sexual exploits, and other "desires of the flesh" may be a "fun" pass time. God won't think it's so special. He will judge us on how well we properly conducted ourselves. One will be taken and one will be left.
Do we take the time to do what's good and beneficial? Do we take the time to help others in need? Do we take the time to visit loved ones? Do we take the time to pray?
Advent is a season of patiently waiting, anticipating the birth of Christ. As Father Alfred Delp, S.J. so eloquently wrote:
The season of Advent is, first of all, the time of man's original religious instinct.....Beyond this general human meaning, Advent has a great historical meaning to the believer, the grateful remembrance of the millennia of God's gracious care that has led man to the fulfillment of his longing for him. Thus the season of Advent clearly reveals the basic meaning of all human events and historical developments: man's way to God, guidance by God, fulfillment in Christ.
*****
"Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." (Isaiah 2:1-5)
-J.
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