The Resolve to Run Forth

Jesus tells us over and over in the Gospel today to “watch.” This is our attitude for the season of Advent. Just as the new translation of the Mass is causing us to have to watch carefully the words we use and pay attention, so we are meant to pay closer attention to our spiritual lives this Advent. This watchfulness of Advent is not a passive sitting back. Rather, the collect of today’s Mass prays that we will have “the resolve to run forth” to meet Christ at his coming.

Advent recognizes two comings of Christ. The obvious one is the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Yet, these first weeks of Advent urge us to prepare for a more important coming, the return of Jesus in Glory. This anxious expectation gives Advent and the Mass a sense of direction. We are not sitting around idle waiting, rather we are on a mission. May this season of Advent increase our resolve and an eagerness to welcome Christ at his coming.