Download Newsletter for 1st Sunday of Advent, Year B
Be watchful! Be alert!
Bottom line: Focus on Jesus, find time for silence. “Be watchful! Be alert!”
Jesus tells us “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” We are like watchmen. It’s a serious duty. In the Roman army if the night watchman fell asleep, the other soldiers would place him in the middle of a circle and club him to death. He had exposed them to mortal danger. The night watch was broken into shifts like Jesus describes: “evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.” The point here is that you and I have to establish a certain discipline of prayer. Maybe set your alarm a bit earlier so you can give twenty minutes or even an hour to pray. Best way to begin a day! Some people use part of their lunch break or before they turn in at night. Find the time – or times – that work for you. Then stick with them. (Fr. Phil Bloom)