Give Them Light December 2

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week of the Year
Advent's Eve/New Liturgical Year's Eve

Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:5

Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

Piety

Jesus, we pray in Thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year, the goodness that is in our lives and the tribulations that we have suffered. We invite your Spirit to guide our lives. Be in our minds, on our lips and in our hearts so we will have the strength and vigilance to avoid temptation and accept your Great Invitation.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/120206.shtml

In our Christian life, we are not only called to the discipline of Piety, Study and Action to grow in our friendship with Jesus and earn the grace of God. When our lives are filled with these activities, we are able to be on guard and not give in to whatever temptation, sin or demon pursues us.

We also are called to be watchful, vigilant, for ourselves and for others. The lighthouse keeper trims the wick and oils the lamp to illuminate the rocks and coastline that threaten the safe journey of those passing by. The keeper also paints his building to help those on the seas navigate. The patterns – like the famous striped Hatteras Lighthouse – painted on these sentinels helped sailors know where they were on the coasts as well so they could plot their course.

As we conclude the liturgical year today, we are not only still called to do the right thing and to be holy. But, as advent light breaks tomorrow morning, remember that we are also called, like the disciples in the Garden, to be watchful and attentive to Jesus who Was and to the Jesus who will come again and conquer darkness in the new Jerusalem where there will be no need for lighthouses.

Action

Maybe in our vigilance, we can start by being watchful that we do not give in to the temptation of commercialism during the holiday season.

One of the Catholic blogs I read had a simple suggestion: Limit the number of gifts to your immediate family to three items. If three was a good limit for Jesus on Christmas, why can’t it also be a good limit for the rest of us?

Click on this link for a more secular approach -- 10 Tips for a Simpler More Meaningful Christmas…

http://www.simpleliving.org/indexoth.php?place=archives/MR/10tips.php