November 30, 2025
1st Sunday
Advent
FOCUS: Stay awake, for you do not know when the Lord will come.
The four weeks of Advent are meant for us to prepare our hearts for three comings of Christ: his birth in Bethlehem (which we celebrate on Christmas); his return at the end of time; and his coming to us here and now. Our preparations include prayer, reception of the sacraments, good works, and sacrifices. Although everyone’s preparations will look different, they are all meant to cleanse us from sin and teach us to welcome Christ with love.
What's in Your Heart
Advent is our annual season for longing and waiting. Let's consider truthfully what it is we are waiting for this year.
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What's the best part of the Advent season for you? What is the hardest thing you have to do between now and Christmas?
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What did you love most about this season in your childhood? What captures your heart now during this time of year?
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What helps you "stay awake" to the rich meaning of Advent?
Homily Stories
Our house was broken into recently while my family and I slept soundly in our beds. We woke when we heard noise on the back porch, but it was too late. The thief was gone along with a purse filled with cash, credit cards, and keys. A hundred "if onlys" went through our heads. If only we'd double-checked that the back door was locked, if only we'd hidden the purse from view, if only we'd woken sooner and scared the no-goodnik away, if only we'd been more prepared. But then, of course, came the gratitude we all felt: Thank goodness no one was hurt, thank goodness all the thief got was a purse, thank goodness we're not so desperate as to feel compelled to steal. Perhaps we were more prepared than we realized—not for preventing the theft, but for counting our blessings.
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Counting our blessings is an essential part of the Advent preparation. The more aware we are of the gifts we've been given, the more able we are to appreciate the gift of Love that is to come.
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We may not know the hour of Love's arrival, but we can rest assured that nothing can prevent love from reaching us if we are steadfast. Death and death-dealing acts will not prevail. The thief, the liar, the betrayer, the murderer will never have the last word. The last word is, was, and always shall be reserved for the first Word—who is Love
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First Reading
Second Reading
Gospel
Quotes
When we consider that Christ is the true light, having nothing in common with deceit, we learn that our own life also must shine with the rays of that true light.
—Saint Gregory of Nyssa, bishop (335-394 A.D.)
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Never will God's coming be what you expect, and yet never will it disappoint.
—Venerable Fulton Sheen