The Pope says, God has time for us!

With my belly better, I searched for other perspectives on the beginning of Advent (something a little less doom'n'gloom). The Pope today challenged us to make room for the Lord in our lives:

Having returned from his pastoral visit to the Roman parish of St. Lawrence Outside-the-Walls, Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Sunday Angelus with 15,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. In his words to the faithful, the Pope challenged them to be mindful of how the Lord comes into their lives and to make room for him.

Before the praying the Angelus, he noted the beginning, with the First Sunday of Advent, of a new liturgical year. "All of us say that 'we don't have time' because the rhythm of daily life has become, for us, frantic...God gives us his time. We have always little time; especially for the Lord we do not know or, sometimes, do not want to find. Well, God has time for us! This is the first thing that the beginning of the liturgical year makes us rediscover with always new marvel.”

Pope Benedict then explained that God gives us his time “because he entered into history with his word and his works of salvation to open it to the eternal, to make it become part of the history of the covenant. Time is already in itself a sign of God's love: a gift that like every other thing, man is in a position to value or, to spoil; to understand, or to neglect with obtuse superficiality."

...

The liturgical season of Advent celebrates the coming of God in two moments, the Holy Father explained."First it invites us to reawaken the expectation of the glorious return of Christ; then, as Christmas approaches, it calls upon us to welcome the Word made flesh for our salvation.

“But the Lord comes into our lives all the time,” Pope Benedict reminded the faithful.

Turning to today’s Gospel reading, he said, “Jesus' appeal therefore comes very much at the right time and in this first Sunday it is again proposed with force: 'Be watchful!' Jesus directed these words to his disciples, but also to 'everybody else' because each one will be called to answer for his existence at a time known only to God. This entails the right detachment from earthly things, sincere repentance for one's own errors, active charity towards one's fellow man and especially a humble and trusting faith in the hands of God, our tender and merciful Father."

Read the rest here.

Awaiting Emmanuel

Tonight I find myself curled up on the couch again for the third or fourth time this week. At first I thought I had caught one of those pesky stomach bugs that 5 year olds spread so well. But, after an analysis of my eating habits this week, Wendy and I may have discovered the culprit: eggs. For some reason my body is reacting terribly to eggs. We think.

In any case, this has blessed me with hours of TV watching and internet surfing time. As a news-junkie, I've spent a good amount of my intestinally-sponsored free time watching CNN and reading stuff on the BBC website. None of it seems good.

Yesterday, a man was killed due to the greed, lack of compassion, and disgusting behavior of Long Island Walmart shoppers.

The death toll in Mumbai has hit 195 dead and about 295 injured. And, there are still bodies uncounted.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue with deaths mounting daily.

The conflict in Darfur has no end in sight, with little being done internationally to help.

Riots kill hundreds in Nigeria and the Congo might erupt in all out war.

Thailand is shut down and falling apart.

New York City is on the lookout for a possible terrorist plot.

And the Dalai Lama says sex can only mean trouble.

No the news is not good today.

Which brings me to Advent. Advent is the season of waiting and preparing for the birth of our Messiah in our Church year. Basically it's the four weeks that lead up to Christmas. Tomorrow begins Advent.

As we decorate and shop, as we make travel plans and listen to cheery-Christmas music 24/7, as we wish that we get that Nikon camera we've been longing for (hint, hint) and eat ourselves into obesity, we should stop, take a look around us and take in what's happening.

There are blessings in abundance, yes. I cannot complain, I've been blessed tremendously. As I sit here whining about my belly aches, I look next to me on the couch and there's a beautiful lady bringing me tea.

But, in this time of cheer and blessings, also remember those who have not. Remember those who are going through less-than-cheery moments in history. And remember that although there is tremendous progress and change happening in the world, the images from the video below are eerily similar to images on the news today:



As we await Emmanuel, I sometimes wonder... we've been around for 2000 years since Jesus was born. What have we done with our time?

(Note: sour stomachs leads to depressing posts)