The first Sunday of Advent might well be called, Vigilance Awareness Sunday. The Gospel for this Sunday emphasizes this by stating that we must be “vigilant at all times.” The four candles for the season of Advent, three purple and one pink, represent the four Sundays of preparation for Christmas. Why the pink candle? The pink candle is a symbol of joy, and it is lit on the Third Sunday of Advent when we take a break from our busy preparations to bask in the joy of Christmas. We must never forget, no matter how busy we are on the other three Sundays, that Christmas is about the special joy that Christ gives us so that ” our joy may be full ” ( John 15 : 11 ). That is the significance of the pink candle ( among the three purple candles ) that is lit on the third Sunday of Advent.

When we expect company in the evenings after the day’s work is done, we turn on the porch light. Our small beacon of welcome streams out to meet the visitor. This is not new, for people have lit a candle or oil lamp for centuries and have set it at the window or outside as a sign of welcome. This welcoming light is a sign that the people inside are vigilant, watchful and awake. They are ready, the porch light outside or the light in the window inside says so.

Advent is the time of year that cautions us to be “vigilant” spiritually for the coming of Christ. The son of man is coming at “the time you least expect” we read in the Gospel. The people in Jesus’ time did what all people do, day in and day out. They went to work, they plowed the fields, they prepared meals, they ate and drank, they married and they were given in marriage. These were every day tasks which required little thought and attention. They are the stuff of human life. But, Jesus reminds us that we must keep the steady flame of the Spirit burning in our hearts as a sign of God’s presence in our lives.

This time of year, families are busy pulling out boxes of Christmas lights and ornaments to decorate their homes for the Christmas season. This is a beautiful custom for it reminds us of the importance of Christmas when the baby Jesus was born in a simple manger, and that He came to redeem us from sin. This is not just the time of year when we begin preparations for Christ’s birth at Christmas. It is also a time when we celebrate our own new, spiritual rebirth which Christ’s birth made possible.

Churches, malls, streets and homes are decorated inside and outside as a sign of preparation, and as a way of celebrating the Christmas spirit. It would be difficult not to touched by  this. There is music in the air, there is joy and there is the frivolity of children, running about everywhere, having fun, because Christmas is coming.

Still, there is more to Christmas than that. We need to prepare our hearts and minds to absorb the spirit of Christmas, that spirit of listening to Christ and putting His teaching into practice.

Try to be more sensitive to one another’s needs this Advent. Try to visit someone who is sick or in hospital. Try to help the needy in your midst. Listen more carefully to what the scriptures have to tell you but, above all, try to live the scriptures. In other words: “Be vigilant at all times.” Stay awake! “For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

You don’t have to do anything extraordinary to be vigilant and prepared for Christmas. Create a spirit of joy in the home. That’s important. Help one another-your parents, brothers, sisters during this wonderful season. Spread good cheer wherever you are, in the home, at church, in the workplace, in school, or at play.

Above all, try to see Christ in everyone you encounter this advent. Forgive one another, encourage one another, and be respectful of everyone from the greatest to the least.

Be vigilant at all times by trying to act like Jesus.

Fr. Hugh Duffy