Have you heard of Vigilance Awareness Sunday? Well, that’s what the First Sunday of Advent celebrates when it cautions us to be “vigilant at all times” ( Luke 21 : 36 ). 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, some may ask? The pink candle is a symbol of joy, and is lit on the Third Sunday of Advent when we take a break from our busy preparations to bask in the spirit of Christmas which is joy. We must never forget, no matter how busy we are, that Christmas is about the joy of Christ which makes ” our joy, full ” ( John 15 : 11 ).

Whenever we expect company in the evenings after the day’s work is done, it is customary for many to 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 and the porch light outside or the light in the window inside says so.

Advent is the time of year that calls for vigilance in preparing for the coming of Christ. It is not just a sentimental time to hear Christmas music, to marvel at the display of colored lights around homes, or to attend the odd Christmas concert. It is a time to make an extra effort to create room for Christ in your daily life for the son of man is coming at “the time you least expect,” the gospel tells us.

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, and are the stuff of human life. But, Jesus reminded the people that they must keep the steady flame of his words burning in their hearts as a sign of the kingdom of God. The early followers of Jesus did that, day in and day out, and in more desperate circumstances than you and I experience today. Are people today as committed to following the example of Jesus as were the early Christians or are they more complacent? Why is that so?

This time of year, families are busy contacting relatives and pulling out boxes of Christmas lights and ornaments to decorate their homes for the Christmas season. These are beautiful customs for they remind us of the importance of family ties, especially when we recall that Jesus was born in a simple manger. But what difference would it make to you if Jesus was born a thousand times over in Bethlehem, but wasn’t born in your heart?

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 and there is joy and the innocent frivolity of children because Christmas is around the corner.

As I said, there is more to Christmas than that. We need to prepare our hearts and minds to absorb the message of Christmas, that spirit of listening to Christ and putting His teaching into practice in our dealings with one another. What better Christmas gift can you give to someone than that?

So, 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 season.

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

—Fr. Hugh Duffy