Advent is a season of joyful expectation. With joy, we await the coming of Christ: remembering His birth in Bethlehem, acknowledging His coming among us in our everyday lives and through the sacramental life, and anticipating His coming at the end of time. December arrives this week, and we are that time of anticipation of Christmas, of warm times to be spent with those who mean the most to us. Perhaps in the midst of the holiday festivities, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves how prepared we are to receive the Lord into our hearts. WE are called to vigilant. Advent is a time to open our eyes and realize that Jesus Christ is in our midst, through the power of His Holy Spirit, in all the events of our lives.