IFTTT Autopost 
Today is the First Sunday of Advent. If you have a traditional Catholic Advent wreath (1 pink and 3 purple candles), you’d light one purple one today. The color of Advent is violet, a shade of purple.
The First Sunday of Advent is also the first day of a brand-new liturgical year. This year, our weekend readings come from what the Church calls “Cycle B.” That means that for the most part, our Gospel readings will be from St. Mark. The way I remember the cycles and the Gospels for each cycle is by saying, “Matthew, Mark, Luke – ABC. ABC, Matthew, Mark, Luke.”
Advent includes the four Sundays before Christmas. The theme of Advent is joyful waiting for the Lord. In the first two Sundays of Advent, we focus on end times, the time when we will be with the Lord in heaven. In the second two weeks of Advent, we focus on the coming of Jesus as the Christ Child on Christmas.
In today’s Gospel passage, for example we read:
“Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. 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!'” (Mark 13: 33-37).
But what does that mean in practice? Well, children are prepared by living out their vocation as students, preparing for the future in that way. For adults, “being prepared” is more complex. Do you have a living will? A regular will? A health-care-power-of-attorney for finances? Life insurance? A health-care-power-of-attorney-for-health-decisions? Does your loved one know where all the important papers are that they will need in case you die? Do they know your funeral wishes? Burial wishes? I know, I know, these are not the cheeriest questions to ask. But that is part of what responsible adults do.
I can’t tell you how appreciative loved ones are when they lose a loved one who has planned their funeral in advance! They know exactly where all the papers are, what funeral home to call, where the person wants to be buried, whether or not they want a wake or not, and so many other things that they don’t have to decide.
Maybe you better get busy, for you know not the day nor the hour!
