The snow crunches as I walk and everything is quiet. Bare trees stretch toward the sky and gather morning sunshine in their branches. Advent is upon us and I didn’t see it coming. Like the trees, I need to reach to heaven. He is coming! How can I prepare?
Lucky for me, the Church anticipates my not-readiness. The morning prayer readings in the Magnificat provide a jolt: “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep,” it says. “Arise, arise to meet thy God.” Then from St. Paul: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Ephesians 5:15).
I am sleepy in spirit, distracted with too much doing. Lord, help me wake up! Sharpen my senses and stir me to life so I can welcome you with joy.
