This week's homily comes from Fr. Gerard O'Dempsey OFM Cap. who happily contributed his words for the week. Enjoy.

Advent 1st Sunday 2009 Year “C”

Scripture scholars have long discussed the content of today’s gospel passage in regard to the momentous event Jesus is speaking of. Is it the physical end of the world? Some of the language certainly sounds like the end-times language of the book of Revelation. But many scholars are agreed that these words depict the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. That event happened in AD 70 - some forty years after Christ’s death and resurrection, during the lifetime of many of those who were Christ’s original followers. The Jews rose up against their Roman occupiers but were mercilessly crushed. The Jewish people were scattered around the world – Jerusalem and the Temple were laid waste…and the repercussions of that event are still felt in today’s troubled Middle East.

Jesus describes this traumatic event in language that was meant to have a dramatic effect on his listeners and to lodge in their memories. But it isn’t just a warning about the destruction of the Temple. What is important for us today is that Jesus offers his followers a way to approach his second coming and the end times. Jesus warns his followers not to lapse or to be distracted from their prayers or from their confidence in him. Then, no matter happens: earthquake, flood, war, famine and so on, the followers of Jesus can be sure that they will have eternal salvation – this, far from being a dire prediction of disaster – is really a promise of liberation for all who follow Christ.

St. Paul gives similar advice to the people of Thessalonika in his letter, part of which we heard as our 2nd reading this morning. And Paul’s advice is as sound for us as it was for these early Christians. Our lives as Christians will not be well lived unless we keep continue to progress by striving to love one another more and to become more Christ-like each day. Using Christ’s language, we are called to “stay awake”…to be “attentive”.

Now, all this talk about desperate times may seem a bit odd at the beginning of Advent – when the rest of society is busily putting up decorations and telling us to spend on money on this, that and the other thing…shopping malls with eternal loops of Christmas Carols assaulting our ears…Why, when we are beginning our preparations for Christmas, has the Church decided to give us such a gloom laden gospel reading?

Well, the Advent season has always had a dual focus – we prepare for Christmas, the celebration of Christ’s first coming among us. But we also think about the 2nd coming of Christ, when God’s kingdom will finally be fulfilled and God’s plan of salvation for the whole of creation reaches its ultimate completion. So for the first two weeks of Advent the scripture readings and the Mass prayers point us toward this 2nd coming – we are to wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. And I guess – waiting is not something we do very happily – in the queue at the checkout, to get onto an aeroplane, waiting for a friend to call us, waiting for the children to come home from a date…we don’t ‘wait’ all that well at the best of times – and yet NOW – we are to wait in joyful hope for this Saviour to come. And our waiting is to be coloured by prayer, attentiveness, and patience.

Today’s gospel reminds us how much we need a savior – someone who can turn the most desolate of situations into victory. Someone who can help us survive any worst-case scenario. Someone who can provide salvation when we most need it. Even the prophet Jeremiah speaking some 600 years before the birth of Jesus, recognized that this savior would come. So we commence Advent aware of this need for a savior and look forward to his coming in glory.

Advent card courtesy of Ben Bell.

Once a month we have "days of reflection" here at Novitiate. While the entire experience is actually a year-long span of reflection and discernment, these particular days are like mini-retreats when we're given specific topics to think about and incorporate into our faith journies as we become Capuchins. We have guest speakers come in; it's importance to the program is such that all other activities are put aside during these days.

I've experienced reflection days when I was a Postulant. During Advent and Lent, our friary in Milwaukee got together with the other formation house from Chicago. It was a great time, however the opportunity for the houses to get together sometimes  became excuses for us to catch up and have fun rather than just focusing on the reflection time.

This past Monday was our first Day of Reflection here. We had Fr. John Pavlik come and talk to us. John is the provincial minister for the St. Augustine (sometimes called the Pittsburgh) province. And while the spirit of the event was light, there was definitely plenty to think about.

One if his points was the ability to look back on our reasons for choosing to become Capuchins. Each of the us have our reasons for being here in Allison Park. And while the year of seclusion continues, and nerves start to grate on each one another and people learn the true meaning of "living in community," there is an importance to be true to our vocations.

The challenge he gave us was this: there are three main reasons why we chose to join the Capuchins versus another Order or the diocese. Our task was to find those reasons and to keep them in our prayers. He told us how his three reasons got him through tough times as a friar, and kept his focus on why he was a friar instead of letting other things tear him apart.

It was a great insight for me to reflect on. Usually I choose to stay busy, fill my day with lots of tasks, and set goals that I try to achieve (the remnants of my life as a salesman). But at times my work and my life have felt empty...leaving me to wonder why I'm even pursuing this vocation. Remembering that I am not doing this for me, but because I felt the task of doing something for others puts things in perspective.

So while the use of three things seems as simple-minded as Curly's one thing, there is wisdom in the simplicity of this reflection. Whether it be a vocation like mine, or a long-term relationship, a marriage, or a career, there are times when we get into "the rut." We get overwhelmed with the daily tasks of living our lives; sometimes we forget those monumental and earth-shattering moments that brought us to where we are. While I've never been married or had my own children, I know how easy it is to forget about the love that existed at the beginning of a relationship. I know what it feels like to wake up and wonder: "What am I doing here?" Like any other committment, a vocation must be renewed continuously; each day I must choose to be here-living my life as a friar.

Someone great (although she'd humbly tell you otherwise) once told me that these memories are like pebbles: pebbles that can be easily lost or forgotten. The key is to keep those pebbles in our pocket; to shine them and touch them and know every ridge and smooth surface. If we can keep those pebbles of our memories close to us, and readily available whenever we need them, not only can they remind us why we are on our journey, but we might even leave a trail as a guide for others.

Flickr photos from Ben and rph10uk