![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/613\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-ySdkQmbkZ-U\/Vldk7ZExKxI\/AAAAAAAAEZQ\/k4sSLbqyYJ0\/s320\/DSC07063.JPG\")
<\/a><\/div>\n[Written for The Southern Cross<\/i>]<\/p>\n
If I got up early enough as a kid, I would see the watchman come up to the house, stand by parents\u2019 window and let my father know he was leaving. \u00a0I recall at least once hearing his voice as he spoke with my dad through the cracked window. \u00a0We needed a watchman since the police could provide very little security in a city where crime and terrorism were gaining strength.<\/p>\n
I have oftentimes wondered about this watchman who spent all night vigilant that nobody would break into our property. \u00a0 I am convinced he was more vigilant for the first rays of sunlight since the daylight meant he was free to return home. \u00a0He must have waited anxiously for the daylight. \u00a0After a dark, cold night, the much anticipated morning light must have brought him so much relief.<\/p>\n
This memory of the watchman comes back to me every time I read or hear Psalm 130: \u201cMy soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.\u201d \u00a0The psalmist invites us to wait for the Lord with greater vigilance and joy than that of a watchman waiting for the morning. \u00a0That is intense waiting.<\/p>\n
As certain as daylight comes for watchmen, we too know for certain that the Lord will come. \u00a0The season of Advent which is now beginning gives us four weeks to enter into the psalmist\u2019s invitation to wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning. \u00a0It is difficult to wait, yet by waiting we grow in virtue and strength.<\/p>\n
Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for the commemoration of the Lord\u2019s first coming at Christmas, while at the same time, it is a time of waiting and preparing for the second coming of the Lord at the end of time. \u00a0Advent is about the two comings of Christ, the first which has already happened and the second one which has been promised.<\/p>\n
At every Mass we ask God to grant us the grace to wait free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. \u00a0In the same way it would be absurd for the watchman to fear the arrival of daylight, we must not be afraid of the arrival of Jesus Christ. \u00a0Our faith prepares us to meet him.
\nWe prepare to meet Christ by following His law of charity, by loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbor as ourselves. \u00a0We prepare by witnessing to the love of God at all times in word and deed. \u00a0We remain watchful by seeking the Lord at all times with as much desire as the watchman waits for daybreak. \u00a0We remain vigilant by finding hope in all things and in all situations, even those that are difficult. \u00a0We remain watchful by keeping a hopeful expectation of the future, trusting that the Lord is with us and that He will deliver us from all distress.<\/p>\n
We wait as vigilant watchmen aware that the Lord has already come and will come again. \u00a0We rejoice that the Lord we wait for gives us all that we need to find Him. \u00a0Prepare the way of the Lord this Advent. \u00a0Be more vigilant than the watchman so you will not miss the first signs of the coming of the light.<\/p>\n
Pictures are mine, all rights reserved<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Written for The Southern Cross] If I got up early enough as a kid, I would see the watchman come up to the house, stand by parents\u2019 window and let my father know he was leaving. \u00a0I recall at least once hearing his voice as he spoke with my dad through the cracked window. \u00a0We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n