This Sunday, November 29, 2020, we start Advent. The liturgical color returns to purple. Do you remember the liturgical color was purple for Lent when we ran into the pandemic and most of you opted to follow the Bishop's dispensation for Sunday Mass? The dispensation continues and in our area is needed more than ever due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. Never the less we continue to have our two Sunday Masses, 8:15 and 10:30 AM. We are masked and socially distanced and wipe down the pews after Mass. Cheryl Ashe has been videoing our 10:30 and putting it on line. Deacon Mel will list the connection at the bottom of these notes.
I am writing this between the Graveside Funeral of Tom Broden and the Notre Dame vs North Carolina. So, please excuse any errors as I rush to finish. Please keep the Broden family in your prayers. I hope you all saw Tom's obituary in the South Bend Tribune. He was quite the man and accomplished many things at the ND Law School and here in South Bend. He was really involved in the Civil Rights movement. May he now rest in peace!
I hope everyone had a good if different Thanksgiving. Even with all the problems we have, we still have a lot for which to be thankful. Welcome back to all our students from out of town. May those who have been living here and are going home elsewhere stay safe.
The key word in today's readings is: "Watch!" It is the last word of today's Gospel. Jesus begins the Gospel: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." Most would say he is talking about the hour of our death and he is. We do not know when we will pass. If we are in hospice care we may know death to close but we still don't know when. But following our Advent theme, he is also telling us to "watch" for Christmas. That is a date we know will come next month, when we celebrate God becoming human. When we celebrate that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son to be one of us to show us how to live in God's love. And there is a third thing to watch for this Advent and at all times, the many invitations Jesus gives us to love our neighbors. Last Sunday's Gospel gave us an image of the Last Judgement where Jesus separated the good from the bad and rewarded the good and punished the bad and it all hinged on what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters.
In the first reading today the Prophet Isaiah prays for God's return to save his people, asking for signs like of old. His prayer ends beautifully: "Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you are the potter: we are all the work of your hands." In our second reading St. Paul blesses the church in Corinth. It is a blessing that rings true to me today about you: "I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus." Hang in there and keep the faith. Take care and stay well.