Reflection/Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent Year B 3rd December 2023
Reflection/Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent Year B 3rd December 2023 Isaiah 63:16d-17; 64:1,3b-8. Psalm 80:2ac,3b,15-16a,18-19. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9. Mark 13:33-37. Theme: The Vigilant Wait. We begin the season of Advent today and the beginning of the new liturgical year 2024. This new liturgical is cycle B, the year of St. Mark. Advent means coming or arrival. During Advent, the Catholic Church asks us to prepare for the three-dimensional coming of our Lord Jesus Christ past, present, and future. Jesus is always coming, never fully come. He comes fully only in heaven. He is always coming into our lives here on earth. He comes when we pray. He comes when we study, when we do our duties diligently. He comes through the struggle to conquer temptations, trials, and defects. He comes when we make an effort to be holy. The Advent readings invite us to be vigilant, to be ready to receive the Lord who is coming. The first reading says God is "our Father, our Redeemer from old is his na...