Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
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.” MT 24:37-44
As we begin Advent, we prepare our souls for the coming of Christ on Christmas (Emmanuel-God is with us) and the 2nd Coming of Christ, the end of the world. We do not know if we will pass before the 2nd Coming, so the end of our earthly life is something we must prepare for as well. No doctors have found a cure for death. Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, God’s only Son, came to earth as God, died and resurrected to redeem humanity conquering death and sin. Through baptism, we have a new life, one better than Adam and Eve. We have the spiritual powers of intellect, will, and memory to be holy and cooperate with God’s grace. We are created out of complete generosity of God. Our lives are a complete gift from God. We are called through Baptism to reject Satan, believe in the Truths revealed by Christ in the Creed, and grow in holiness.
Where do we start? We must gain knowledge of God, know Him. ”Ignorance of the Gospel is ignorance of Christ.” -St. Jerome We must come to know Christ by reading the daily Gospel. We cannot worship something we do not know. Once we gain knowledge of Christ, we must seek understanding and wisdom by spending time with Him daily in prayer and allowing Him to transform our hearts. Learn to be still and listen to Christ. Jesus stays with us and gives Himself to us (He can’t give anymore than Himself) in the Eucharist. He consoles us in our sorrow for sin when we fall in Reconciliation. We call this the Catholic ER (Eucharist and Reconciliation). The Catholic ER is way more important than the hospital ER. Even if we were being life watched into the hospital for critical injuries, it does not even come close to the importance of your soul being cut off from God by mortal sin. Our bodies will die and decay, our souls live forever. We must come to the sacraments faithfully to grow in holiness.
Last, we must choose Christ. We must make a decision to believe in what He says. We must make a decision to love Him. ”We killed God and He came back with love and forgiveness.” -Fr. Robert Barron His love for us is overwhelming. God is always faithful. God is love. He cannot not love us. We must make a decision to love Him back. Our faith is a faith of response. We must die to self and put on Christ for others to prepare our souls for eternal life. Jesus cannot lie. ”We must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Today’s challenge: Prepare your hearts for Christ’s coming by spending time getting to know Jesus in the Scriptures and spending more time with Him at daily Mass or in the Adoration chapel. Do something for someone who cannot repay you.
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