Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, November 30, 2025

Although Christmas decorations have been in stores since Halloween, the Church waits until today to begin the liturgical season of Advent. During these next four weeks, we acknowledge that Jesus was present 2,000 years ago, that He is present here and now, and that He will be present again. As we mark progress through Advent by lighting candles on our Advent wreath, we both remember His coming and we anticipate His coming.

Rosemary, John and I typically travelled to both New York and Michigan for Christmas. It took detailed preparation on Rosemary’s part to ensure that every gift got where it was supposed to be long before Christmas Day. That meant that, by the first week of December, she had to buy, wrap, box, and ship all of the presents for our families. The shipping bills alone would have provided the average family with a nice Christmas! One year, when my son was three or four, Rosemary’s parents decided to visit us for Christmas. This meant that, in addition to dealing with the gifts, Rosemary had to spend weeks cleaning, decorating, and baking in anticipation of their visit. Whether we were at home or away, careful preparation was critical to an outstanding family Christmas.

Advent is also a time of careful preparation. We cannot simply look fondly at the scene in Bethlehem and feel the joy of the birth of the infant Jesus. We must also recall that His coming took some by surprise and that, throughout His life, some people never accepted Him because they were not prepared for His arrival. As we look forward to our Lord’s second coming, we must heed the warning from today’s Gospel: “Stay awake…be prepared!” Jesus is returning. If we do not wake up and prepare for Him, we may react as the Pharisees did 2,000 years ago and reject Him because we are not ready to receive Him.

So, as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, let’s also take time to prepare our hearts and souls for Christ’s coming. Fortunately, this preparation does not require us to fight with tangled lights or crowds at the mall. His instructions are simple and clear: Love God and love one another. There is no better way to prepare for His coming - His Advent – than to simply follow his instructions.

Fr. Mike