Sunday Inspiration - 1st Sunday of Advent

To You I lift up my soul;

In You, O my God, I trust;

Let me not be put to shame;

Let not my enemies exult over me.

No one who waits for You shall be put to shame.

Happy New Year!

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, the new liturgical year of the Church. We begin the year by focusing on the coming of our Lord, which we celebrate on Christmas. My prayer for Advent is that everyone will spend this season preparing their hearts room for Jesus Christ.

Of course, as I mentioned in recent posts, many people focus most of this season preparing for Christmas morning with gifts and decorations, neither of which are bad in themselves. But let us not forget about the King of kings, the Lord of lords for whom we are celebrating.

Along those ends, I recently found out about the organization called Advent Conspiracy, which advocates for a changing of priorities in our society during Advent and Christmas. They produced this excellent video which really speaks for itself. Check it out, maybe you'll be inspired:

I really like the idea about taking some money you save from buying less stuff and giving it to those in need. One organization that helps you do this is World Vision . They have tons of options for donating money. You can buy people farm animals, wells, school supplies, and many more things that will help those who are seriously in need. Consider making this a part of your Advent and Christmas traditions.

So as we wait for the coming of Our Lord, let us give thanks for all that we have, but not be so focused on what we do not have that we forget about those who have nothing.

I pray that God blesses everyone during this wonderful season.