When I first read today’s Gospel, I had the distinct “Ho Hum” feeling of “Startin’ all over again!” And then I read it again and prayed over it a bit and came up with the realization: Thank God we can start all over again! The new start may be the new Liturgical year–this year we read from the C cycle and the Gospel according to Luke, but more than that, I realize that I need to start over–at least somewhat….
I need in this “Year of Faith” to read more scripture. I need to pay more attention to my Faith. I need to open my heart and mind a whole lot more so that I can recognize Christ’s presence here on earth and in my life. I need to take time to listen to Him and I need to be grateful for His ever present love and forgiveness.
It’s so easy to fall into routine–to settle for idleness, carelessness and indifference, but we must all realize that we are on a journey and that the destination is heaven–and the face to face meeting with our creator. And we are the Masters of our own destiny!
Over the last few weeks we have been reading the warnings of the end of the world–Christ’s second coming in all His splendor and glory. The readings leave a bit of fear in our hearts. The disciples thought that Christ’s second coming was imminent. They never even bothered to write down all that Christ did on earth until about 30 or 40 years after His death when they realized that maybe the world’s end wasn’t coming as soon as they thought and that they had better record “those things that Christ said and did” so that as the witnesses of His life died, others would know about Him and His works. Do we believe that Christ will come again? Of course. Do we think it will be any time soon? Theologians doubt it. But when might Christ come for our own personal “end of this world”? None of us knows.
We need to prepare our hearts, our minds, every portion of our being so that Christ can be born in us. He wants to be–after all, He came to earth as that tiny human being to teach us the way to the Father. And with the Father is where He wants everyone of us to be! Such is the love He has for us! We need to live in hope and anticipation for that great day when we have reached our destination –when we see Christ our Light.
As we light our Advent candles let us not approach it or the season with a “Ho Hum”, “Startin’ all over again” attitude. Let us truly remember that Christ is the Light of the world. His coming was one of cosmic proportions. It changed the destiny of the human race. Let us be watchful, let us be attentive as each candle of our Advent wreath is lit. Let us be mindful as each candle provides more light–that Christ our Light is pushing away the darkness from our hearts!
Linda Caminiti
