Posted on 11/30/2025 6:19:46 AM PST by fidelis
First Sunday of Advent
“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Matthew 24:42–44
How does one “stay awake” as our Lord commands us? We receive this holy exhortation as we enter into a new liturgical year. In Advent, we begin at the beginning. We ponder the Incarnate Son of God dwelling as a human Child in the precious womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We anticipate the celebration of His birth into the world at Christmas. As the liturgical year progresses, we will prayerfully walk through each moment of His life, from the events of His childhood, to His public ministry, and ultimately His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven.
Our Lord’s exhortation to stay awake invites us to be attentive to the ways that the Son of God’s human life speaks to us, calling us to become fully united to Him so as to share in the glorious gifts of holiness in this life and eternal salvation in the next. After exhorting us to stay awake, the Son of God said, “For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” Of course, we know He came into this world over 2,000 years ago in physical form... Advent is a season that invites us to reflect on Christ’s first coming in Bethlehem, His daily coming to us in grace, and His final coming at the end of time. These moments are intimately connected, as each prepares us more fully for the next.
From Heaven, the Son of God continues to descend to us, inviting each of us to conceive Him in our souls by grace, to be attentive to His divine presence within us, and to nurture His divine presence so that He will grow and live within us, making us true members of His Body, the Church. Staying awake means being aware of Christ’s presence in every moment and cultivating a personal relationship with Him that is alive and growing. This Advent, ask yourself: How am I nurturing my relationship with Jesus so that I am ready to meet Him whenever He comes?
Jesus calls us to be prepared at every moment of every day, “for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Though this is a promise that He will return one day to judge the living and the dead at the end of time, it is also a promise that He relentlessly pursues us here and now, communicating to us by grace and inviting us to be transformed more fully, so as to love Him and manifest His love to the world around us. As we mature in our faith, God often speaks in subtler ways, inviting us to listen with the ears of our hearts. These gentle whispers of grace require us to be even more attuned to His presence, ready to respond to His call in the quiet moments of our day.
Reflect today on Jesus’ exhortation to be awake, vigilant, attentive, and ready to love Him in the smallest ways. To stay spiritually awake, cultivate habits that keep you attuned to God’s presence: set aside time for daily prayer, receive the sacraments frequently, and be mindful of opportunities to serve others. These practices will help you remain vigilant and ready to encounter Christ at any moment. Search for Him this Advent, and never tire of loving Him in your prayer and in those around you. The Son of God continuously comes to you “at an hour you do not expect.” By building a spiritual habit of being prepared, you will meet and love Him throughout your day.
My ever-present Lord, You surround me with Your grace and flood me with Your mercy day and night. Please give me a heart that is attentive and receptive to You so that I can receive all that You wish to bestow and love You and others with Your Sacred Heart. Jesus, I trust in You.
Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you.
First Reading:
From: Isaiah 2:1-5
The Glory of Zion and Peace Among the Nations
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[1] The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
[2] It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, [3] and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. [4] He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [5] O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
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Commentary:
2:1-4:6. This section opens with a new “dispute” ("rib") in which we find echoes of the teaching about the “day of the Lord” (2:12; cf. Amos 5:18—20). Previously, the people were accused of forsaking God (cf. 1:2-3); now we are told why God has forsaken them (cf. 2:6): it was on account of their arrogance and their idolatry (cf. 2:6-4:1). However, it is not really the case that God has forsaken his people; his “forsaking” them is a way of describing the punishment he inflicts on them on account of their sins. When the Lord’s sentence is revealed, human arrogance will be brought low, and the Lord will be exalted (cf. 2:9, 11, 17).
Oracles about the splendor that will be Zion’s on that day introduce (cf. 2:1-5) and round off (4:2-6) this “dispute”.
2:1-5. Despite the sins of the people and the disastrous situation in Judah that is described in this first part of the book, from the very start a glimmer of hope is provided in this vision of messianic and eschatological restoration which shows that the salvation of the world centers on Zion, “the mountain of the Lord”, that is, Jerusalem.
All the nations will converge on the holy city, but not to despoil it of its wealth: they will come in peace to hearken to the word of the Lord and receive instruction in his law. This note of hope, struck, strategically, at the very start of the book, and at its end (66:18-24), constitutes one of its most important messages.
The poem in vv. 2-5 (found also, with slight variations, in Micah 4:1-3) links the Law with the temple, the spiritual center of Jerusalem after the national reconstruction that took place when the exiles returned from Babylon.
In contrast with the strife and desolation that sin brings in its wake (cf. 1:2-9), peace is the outcome of reverence for God and readiness to obey his precepts, of the practice of virtue and of love of neighbor. The weapons of war become tools for development and agriculture: “Insofar as men are sinful, the threat of war hangs over them, and hang over them it will until the return of Christ. But insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of love, they will vanquish violence as well and make these words come true: ‘They shall turn their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more’ (Is 2:4)” ("Gaudium Et Spes", 78).
These words of Isaiah announcing God’s salvific intervention in the fullness of time will come true with the birth of Christ, who will open up an era of perfect peace and reconciliation. The Church uses this text in the liturgy of the first Sunday in Advent, encouraging us to look forward to the second coming of Christ as we prepare to recall his first coming at Christmas.
From: Romans 13:11-14
Love, the Fulfilling of the Law (Continuation)
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[11] Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; [12] the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; [13] let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. [14] But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
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Commentary:
11-14. The Church uses this inspired text in the liturgy of Advent to help us prepare for the coming of the Lord. Christ came into the world by his Incarnation; he also comes to souls through grace; and at the end of time he will come as Judge. Rising like the sun, he dispelled the darkness when he came into the world, and he continues to dispel whatever darkness remains in souls the more he obtains mastery over the hearts of men.
13-14. Souls who have become members of the Church through Baptism are always in need of conversion to a new life. Sometimes God uses Sacred Scripture to awaken people from their spiritual lethargy. In fact, he used these particular words of Scripture to move the heart of St Augustine and have him take the last step towards casting off the attachments of the flesh. "I felt myself still enslaved by my iniquities, and therefore did I groan to myself, 'How long? How long must I continue saying Tomorrow, tomorrow? Why not now? Why not, at one instant, make a n end of all uncleanness?' [...] And behold I heard a voice, like that of a child in the house next door, repeating in a sing-song tone, 'Take up and read. Take up and read' [...]. I rose up [...] and returned to where I had left the book of the Apostle; I took it quickly into my hand, opened it and read in silence the first passage on which my eye happened to fall." Having transcribed the verses we are now commenting, Augustine continues: "I read no further, nor was there any need to; for with the end of this sentence, as by a clear and constant light infused into my heart, the darkness of all former doubts was immediately driven away" ("Confessions", VII, 12, 28-29).
14. All Christians "put on" Christ in Baptism (cf. Gal 3:27). Starting with this initial configuration to Christ, they are steadily transformed into him by frequent reception of the sacraments, particularly the sacrament of Penance. "'"Induimini Dominum Iesum Christum". Put on the Lord Jesus Christ', says St Paul to the Romans. It is in the Sacrament of Penance that you and I put on Jesus Christ and his merits" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 310).
From: Matthew 24:37-44
The Time of the Second Coming of Christ and of the Last Judgment (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to his disciples,) [37] "As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. [38] For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, [39] and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. [40] Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.
Vigilance. The Faithful Servant
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[42] "Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. [43] But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. [44] Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
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Commentary:
37-39. In a few strokes our Lord sketches man's perennial insensitivity and carelessness towards the things of God. Man thinks it is more important to eat and drink, to find a husband or wife; but if that is his attitude he is forgetting about the most important thing--eternal life. Our Lord also foretells that the end of the world will be like the great flood; the Son of man's second coming will happen unexpectedly, taking people by surprise, whether they are doing good or evil.
40. It is in the context of the ordinary affairs of life—farmwork, housework, etc.—that God calls man, and man responds: that is where his eternal happiness or eternal punishment is decided. To be saved, one does not need to meet any special conditions, or to be in a special position in life: one simply has to be faithful to the Lord in the middle of ordinary everyday affairs.
42. Jesus himself draws from this revelation about the future the practical moral that a Christian needs to be on the watch, living each day as if it were his last.
The important thing is not to be speculating about when these events will happen and what form they will take, but to live in such a way that they find us in the state of grace.
The Month of November is Dedicated to Praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
“He took up a collection, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” (2 Maccabees 12:43-45)
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intentions for the month of November, 2025:
For the prevention of suicide
Let us pray that those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts might find the support, care, and love they need in their community, and be open to the beauty of life.
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