It is the Season of Advent. 'Come let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord...'

The Gospel from Matthew 24: 37-44 encourages us to stay awake, because we do not know the day when the master is coming.

How do you understand 'staying awake' in this context?

There seems to be an urgency behind these words of Jesus. Don't let life pass us by. A call to stand ready, to be aware, to be conscious and engaged with the meaning and purpose of our lives, to be reflective, prayerful and present to the graces and blessings that God is always offering us.

The Advent Season invites us to focus on the coming of Jesus with a deep sense of joy and anticipation, his coming among us as the vulnerable child in Bethlehem and his coming at the end of time. His coming to us in Word and in Sacrament and his coming to us in the silence of prayer and stillness and our encounters with the people that cross our path.

Sometimes we are not awake to God's presence but God is always awake to us. Sit quietly for a few moments and be awake to God's healing and loving presence with you here and now. How are you encouraged to respond?

May this time of Advent enable us all to prepare for Christ to be reborn within us.

You may like to listen to Psalm , Psalm 120 'I lift my eyes to the mountains,' from 'Holy Land.'

Blessings on your week.