Maria Clarice D.

Fajutagana BSMT 1B
ADVENT

December 8, 2013 Ms. Suzette Mendoza

God gives a different grace in each season of the liturgical year. During this season of Advent God has a grace to give us. To use the words of John the Baptist in the desert, are we making a straight way for the visitation of God? Are we receiving the grace God is offering us this Advent? This Advent is a time when God will visit us if we allow him. So how is Advent going for us? If we have not yet begun to make a straight way for the Lord to receive his grace begin today, It is never too late to begin. How am I going to receive the grace God is offering me this Advent? I have to spend more time in prayer with God this Advent, spending time with God searching for the answers to my problems. I look forward to spending time with a loved one, looking forward with anticipation to spending time with God in prayer each day during Advent. If Advent is only a time of consumerism and b uying gifts for people that they dont really want or need, it is flying in the face of what Jesus is all about. There is only one gift at Christmas, that gift is Jesus. Jesus is the grace that the Father wants to give to all of us this Advent. The Father is always willing to give, but it is up to us to unwrap the Fathers gift of Jesus to us. Advent is a time to renew and deepen our relationship with God. It is a time of patient waiting for God, prayerful and trustful waiting for God. I will celebrate Advent with all my heart, for it is an opportunity to step back from the consumerism of the materialistic world and make a straight way for the Lord to receive the special grace God has planned for me this Advent. To receive the grace God is offering us this Advent, let us also reflect on whether we put God first in our life always. If God is not first, we are missing out on grace God is offering us. Many people do not like Christmas because their wishes for happiness are never fulfilled and many are happy when Christmas has passed. They do not give the impression of having received the grace that God is offering. Nothing in this world will fill the longing in our hearts for the grace of God. Only Jesus will fill our emptiness. To receive the grace that God offers us this Advent, as well as spending much time in prayer with God and putting God first, let us also reflect on whether our lives are modeled on the life of Jesus whose birth we are about to celebrate. As we examine our consciences we recognize that our lives do not model or reflect Jesus and we want to ask for mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that our hearts can become a manger to receive Jesus. He is the light of the world and Advent is a time to come out of the darkness and walk in the light of Jesus.