“Be Watchful! Be Alert!”

Advent Reflection for Week of November 30, 2014

In Scripture, Jesus reiterates three times the urgency to wake up to God in our midst. Simultaneously, Pope Francis calls women and men religious to “Wake Up the World” by living as witnesses of the Gospel, as in the accounts describing the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Isaiah’s daily readings, saturated with joy-filled signs of new life, speak of a world awakening from its sleep:

swords beaten into plowshares;
new shoots sprouting;
the wolf a guest of the lamb;
feasts of rich food and choice wines;
death destroyed forever;
deaf hear, blind see, lowly find joy in Yahweh;
wounds and bruises healed.

Click here for the daily readings for the first week of Advent.

Where do we find similar signs of new life and hope? How may God be calling us to awaken ourselves, and the world, to permeate our reality with Gospel joy and new life?

As we celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life, we will share with you some of the reflections the School Sisters of Notre Dame have received, such as this one from “Rejoice! A message from the teachings of Pope Francis.”

“Religious should be men and women able to wake the world up. In their finite humanity, on the edge, in their everyday struggles, consecrated men and women live out their fidelity, giving reason for the joy that lives in them. So they become splendid witnesses, effective proclaimers, companions and neighbors for the women and men with whom they share a common history… .”

This letter was written by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life to men and women religious in preparation for the year dedicated to consecrated life. Click here to read the full message.

We invite you to view our Advent Reflection show under Sunday Reflections.