I lose sight of other people and their needs. One reason we must be attentive to the Word of God is that Jesus shows us again and again what we often fail to see. One reason we are drawn to the Eucharist is that we need God's nourishment in order to recognize Christ in other people, especially the poor. We need Word and Sacrament for strength and courage to do acts of mercy and works of justice, to practice what we profess and pray. We begin a new liturgical year today as we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent.
Advent literally means the coming or arrival of something really important.
As Christians, we prayerfully wait for the birth of Jesus Christ and anticipate His final coming as Risen Savior of the World. Our faith tells us that the first coming of Jesus, at Christmas, is so important that we must prepare for it by prayer and penance. This demands conversion. We must also prepare for the second coming of Christ, that moment at the end of the world when the Lord will judge the living and the dead by separating the sheep and the goats, the good and the bad. This demands vigilance or being prepared.