Advent: 1 December - Stay Awake and Be Prepared

The season of Advent is a time for us to WAKE OURSELVES UP and begin our preparations for the coming of Christ.

You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Romans 13:11-12

We pray for:

The Church: that our awareness grows as we notice how God is fulfilling our deepest desires, increasing our recognition of the work of God in our lives.

E te Ariki, Whakarongo mai rā kia a mātou.

Increased Attentiveness: that the Spirit will shift us from our complacency and give us the grace to focus on the signs of the times, so that we live more fully each day.

E te Ariki, Whakarongo mai rā kia a mātou.

Peace: That the gift of God’s peace will enter our hearts so that resources for war are turned into tools for development and healing.

E te Ariki, Whakarongo mai rā kia a mātou. 

"We cannot live without facing challenges, without responding to challenges. Whoever does not face challenges, whoever does not take up challenges is not living. Your willingness and your abilities, combined with the power of the Holy Spirit, who abides in each of us from the day of Baptism, allow you to be more than mere spectators, they allow you to be protagonists in contemporary events. Please do not let life go by from the balcony! Mingle where the challenges are calling you to help carry life and development forward, in the struggle over human dignity, in the fight against poverty, in the battle for values and in the many battles we encounter each day."

Pope Francis - from his Homily  at Vespers on the first Sunday of Advent 2013

Read the full text of his Homily here.