Today celebrates the first week of Advent and the lighting the first candle. The candle represents our hope as we await the Light of Christ at Christmas.
In the readings today we are met with cosmic wonders, unsettling images, and the idea that "people will die of fright at the anticipation of what is coming upon the world." Yes, these images were intended to scare the hearer. They were also intended to bring hope. We shouldn't take each day for granted. We should live each day to the best of our ability to do what we know is right and loving. Daily life can take its toll and make us numb to what is important. We should aspire to keep our eye on God always and remember that we are merely journeying through this life to the next. We should be prepared to stand before God.
Carpe Diem means "Seize the Day." The phrase encompasses the meaning of today's message. Don't waste the day, prepare, stay alert. Take care though. For many in the early 20th Century fraught with war and economic depression and for later decades including ours, the phrase takes on a more modern morally relativistic meaning with people who use it to justify lascivious lifestyles, addictions to drugs/alcohol, and the self-centered/'me first" mentality.
We are a people in darkness awaiting our Savior, the Son of Man, for whom we prepare for as the Christ Child at Christmas, and also the one who will come to judge the world at the end of time. Be alert. Look to the Light. He is the response to our hope.
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