Collect for First Sunday of Advent Year C

Happy New Year.. a liturgical New Year. 

The Collect for the First Sunday of Advent reads as follows:

Let us pray,

Grant Your faithful, Almighty God,

the resolve to run forth to meet Your Christ

with righteous deeds at His coming,

so that, gathered at His right hand,

they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, 

who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever.

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What is my resolve at the beginning of this liturgical New Year?
2. How will I carry out this resolve throughout this season of Advent and throughout the Year?
3. What righteous deeds will I have to offer Christ at His coming?
4. What hinders me from being worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom today?
5. How might I prepare spiritually for the coming of Christ?
6. How will I prepare for a good confession this advent?
7. What will I do this coming week to make the Year of Faith and Year of Grace my own?

Being warned is being forearemed.  However, today's Gospel message is precise and clear.

Stay awake.   

During the season of advent, we are preparing for Christmas and with all the jingles of the cash tills and the advertisments and the endless shopping trips, we can allow our hearts to become hardened from the real message of Advent.

This advent let us find some time away from the hussle and the bussle of Christmas preparations and prepare our hearts for Christ.  Let us stay awake  and not let advent slip by without some effort to grow spiritually.  Get your advent off to a great start and write down your plan for the week.

May your advent be a real time of blessing for you.