First Sunday of Advent

Wow! How did the year go by so quickly? Here we are, lighting the candle for the first Sunday of Advent. The readings tell us to get ready, to BE ready. I am not.

I am not ready.

How shall I prepare? What should I do first? Decorate? Bake? Shop?

I think that above all, I need to prepare my heart. I need to focus on readying my soul and my life for the coming of the King. The Rite of Reconciliation is a good step, a step that also requires preparation.

I grew up a Protestant. We didn’t do confession the way Catholics do.  As part of becoming a Catholic, I learned that it is really about reconciliation, working on those things that keep me from being in relationship with God and the people around me.  “Examining my conscience.”

I am grateful for the tools available to me. One only needs to put “examination of conscience” into an Internet search engine to find different forms and procedures to help with the process. Most of them follow the ten commandments. (Thou shalt not kill – seems like an easy one to answer, until I hit, “Did I get angry, impatient, envious, unkind, proud, revengeful, jealous, hateful toward another?’ )

Something I once read said I should do an examination of conscience every night before I go to bed. That I should reflect on my day and how I lived it. Did I hurt anyone? Did I neglect any need? This might be a start for me.

What is it that keeps me from being in relationship with God and the people around me?

Is it the “busyness”? Is it laziness? Is it fear? What can I do to grow?

My reflection seems as fragmented as my life right now! Well, I have given myself a place to start: an evening examination and a trip to the Confessional — or should I call it the Reconciliation Booth?

Will I be ready for the coming of the King?