Be Watchful-Be Alert-Be Silent

Advent begins with a command to be watchful - to be alert. What does it mean to be an alert person?
              The opposite of an alert person is a distracted person. It isn't that the distracted person isn't paying attention. It is that he or she is paying attention to the wrong things.
              Unfortunately, we live in an age of distraction. We get distracted by our smart phones, our televisions, our computers - by anything with a screen. We even get distracted by our own thoughts running through our heads. Many have forgotten what we human beings should be trying to pay attention to in the first place.
Advent reminds us that we are supposed to pay attention to what God is doing or is going to do in our world. The only way we can become aware of the presence of God is to become silent. Our God comes to us very gently at Christmas on a silent night. We can miss Him if our hearts are not silent. We will miss Him if we do not take the silence of Advent to heart.
In our age, Jesus comes to us silently in the Eucharist. We will be having Eucharistic Adoration every Saturday afternoon in Advent from 4pm-5pm during confession. If you desire a silent heart, a heart that is sensitive to the presence of God in our world, come and spend some time with Jesus in Adoration.
God bless,
Fr. Scott