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Today, Catholic Christians celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, the first day of the new Church Year. In this new church year, most of our Sunday Gospel passages will be from the Gospel of Luke.
During Advent, many people have Advent Wreaths. The traditional Catholic Advent wreath has 4 candles: 3 purple and 1 pink. On the first Sunday of Advent, we light one of the purple ones.
In Honduras, many of our parish’s churches have an Advent wreath with candles of four different colors – red, green, white, and purple – each having a different meaning.
Advent is a season of “joyful expectation.” The One we are expecting is, of course, Jesus. During the first two weeks of Advent, the Scripture readings focus on waiting for Jesus at the end of time, and in the second two weeks of Advent, the Scriptures focus on waiting for Jesus to come on Christmas as the Christ Child.
In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, for example, Jesus reminds his disciples to be prepared for the end of their days. He says:
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21, 34-36).
