Fr Peter Harris
ell, it has come upon us at last!! The First Sunday of Advent……. I can’t really quite believe it but my calendar says it clearly so it must be true. Where have all the months gone…. I really do not know!
So, where do we begin? I think the key for me is in the Gospel where Jesus says “Stay Awake!”, as simple as that. But I hear you say, what sort of staying awake is He talking about? Is it not dozing off, staying alert, listening with a careful ear, recognising signs…all sorts of possibilities!
I think being awake means having all our senses working together so that we get a full picture of what is happening around us. All five senses need to be engaged: to hear the presence of God, for instance in the poor; to feel God touching our hearts as well as our bodies; to see the presence of God, perhaps in His creation around us; to smell the sheep of God’s flock as Pope Francis encourages us to do; to taste the flavour of goodness and kindness in all that we do.
OK then, that is a timetable for the four Sundays of Advent and we can keep the last one, ‘taste’ for Christmas Day itself!
Happy Advent.