Reflection and Meme for First Sunday of Advent.  Romans 13:11-14.

Two big yet simple takeaways from Fr. McShane’s and also from Fr. Henehan’s homilies at St. Jude Parish in Dunlap (from the first Sunday of Advent) (I paraphrase and attempt to elaborate):

1.  No matter where you are physically or spiritually in life – today is the present moment.  Today is all that is guaranteed.  Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow hasn’t happened.  So what you do today matters more than you realize.

2. No matter your worries, your sins, your doubts or anxieties, Jesus Christ has invited YOU to give everything to him.  Give Jesus your joy and give Jesus your pain by surrendering completely to his love and mercy.  Elise and I can testify that surrendering our worries really works (I.e. FultonJoseph.com).  I digress:

3. Every moment of the day and every action is an opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ!   Think about that.  As with #1 and #2 above every second in the present is a chance to experience the love of Jesus.  How do we do this?

How do we encounter Christ?   Father McShane provided a simple prayer that everyone can say:  “Come Lord Jesus.”

– when you are driving to work say (vocally or mentally) “Come Lord Jesus.”

– when you are taking care of others (like a spouse or kids for example) “Come Lord Jesus.”

– when you are about to undertake a challenge or even painful experience “Come Lord Jesus.”

– before a meeting “Come Lord Jesus.”

Invite Jesus Christ to be part of your daily life. Start with those simple words and see where it leads you.  If you struggle with faith I promise you the seed is already there.  You just need to water it!

Last,

4.  Stay Awake.  Basically any moment may be your last.  Are you ready?   “Brothers and sisters, you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.”  See Romans 13:11-14.

By surrendering to Jesus Christ in all that we do (all our strengths, weaknesses and everything between) we will worry less about empty temporal matters and more on the promises of eternal life.

Thanks for reading.  Royce Hood

Feel free to use the meme photo.

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