First Sunday of Advent - Today we begin a new liturgical year, with the celebration of the first Sunday of Advent. Each liturgical year the Church reminds us the mystery of the life of Christ, from His birth, until His triumphant return, until His reign as King of the Universe, which is what we celebrated last Sunday.

Precisely the first liturgical season which prepares us for the mystery of Jesus, His birth is Advent. But what is Advent? Advent refers to a soon coming, closeness, for us in this first liturgical season it is a time of hope, joy, peace; but Advent is also a time of reflection and preparation for the second coming of the Lord. In reality since the Lord returned to the heavens and promised to return, our life is a continuous Advent, we have in our hearts the desire of seen Him, of being with Him.

That is why the Lord on this first Sunday teaches us how we should prepare for our encounter with Him with these words: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come... Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'”

Yes, the first attitude that the Lord asks us is to Stay Awake, to literally not sleep, why does the Lord ask us to not sleep? Is it a sacrifice, penance? No. For the Lord this life, the life of man is like a dream; the time that this life lasts, He compares it with the night; the true day, is the other life, eternal life and the awakening to this life of death. That is why the apostle Saint Paul tells us: “Brothers and sisters it is time for you to awaken from the dream that we suffer, the night has advanced, the day is upon us.”

Yes, the first thing that the Lord asks us is to awaken, to not let ourselves be trapped by this dream, because the true day is very near. The analogy that Fr. Cantalamesa makes is very interesting between life and a dream. He says that there are many similar things, for example briefness. A dream takes place out of time, in a dream things do not last as they do in reality. In dreams there are many things that would take a long time in occurring, hours, weeks, etc., one wakes up and realized that only a few minutes have gone by, the same occurs with our life: children, now grandchildren, school, now the university, etc.

Another similar characteristic between life and a dream is an illusion. In a dream we tend to express our most profound desires. We can dream that we are at a banquet, eating and drinking; but when we wake up we are dying of hunger. We can dream that we are rich, powerful, sympathetic, dream with the girl of guy of your dreams; but when you wake up... nothing, we come back to reality. The same thing occurs when we come out of the dream that this life is, it does not matter how many titles, power or money we had, once we are in the presence of God, we will all be the same, yes, before God there are no differences, there are not titles, only love counts.

To be able to awaken from this dream, sometimes we need a special help, an alarm, mom’s voice, a glass of water, etc., that is precisely what Advent looks to, to help us wake up from this dream and prepare us for the big day.

The second attitude that the Lord asks us for is to be attentive, alert, and vigilant. In the first place to not fall asleep, to not be deceived, to not be conquered by the enemy and overall to recognize the Lord when He comes and allow Him to enter, to open our door. Yes because many times it is not easy to recognize the Lord, in Bethlehem He came in the form of a baby and the people did not recognize Him. The same can occur if we are not attentive, He can be passing by our side and we do not see Him.

But the most important attitude on this Sunday brothers and sisters is Hope, joy. Knowing that the Lord is coming should fill us with trust, with joy and peace. We must wait for Him anxiously, with expectation; I am going to encounter the Lord. That is why the best example that I have seen these past days of how we should prepare ourselves, of what our attitude should be, has been last Friday, Black Friday. Have you seen all the people who did not sleep, some didn’t eat; they were dying of coldness, etc. They were awake at the doors of the stores? In spite of their sacrifices, they were anxious, enthusiastic about the offers and when they got what they wanted they were happy.

In the same way and even more so ourselves, we should be waiting for the Lord, we must wake up early to encounter Jesus, we must sacrifice ourselves to have the joy of encountering ourselves with Him, we must do whatever it takes to obtain eternal life.

Brothers and sisters today the Lord invites us in this Advent to have an attitude of reflection, withdrawal, prayer and hope; let us ask The Virgin Mary, who was the first to live Advent, with much prayer and great joy to help us prepare properly in this time of Grace.

Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord bless you and accompany you on this day. Amen.