Catholic TV Mass Online November 30, 2025: First Sunday of Advent

Presider: Fr. James Kubicki S.J. Parish: St. Francis de Sales Seminary Choir: Burlington Catholic Schools The Lord be with you. And with your spirit. A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, o Lord. Jesus said to his disciples: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the son of man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the son of man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day the Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the son of man will come.” The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ. When I was in grade school way back when, I was a boy scout. And maybe some of you have been involved in scouting as well. Do you remember the scout motto? Be prepared. Be prepared. That's what Jesus is telling us in our gospel today. We might ask ourselves, "Be prepared for what?" What Jesus is telling us to be prepared for is his coming. Now, as we begin Advent, the word Advent is a Latin, it comes from a Latin word which means coming. And of course we're preparing for the celebration of Jesus' first coming. When the son of God took flesh in Mary's womb and was born in a stable in Bethlehem. We're preparing for Christmas. But during this advent season we're also called to prepare for Jesus' coming again. His coming at the end of the world or what would be more likely is at the end of each of our lives. And in our gospel Jesus makes a very I think shocking comparison. He talks about a thief coming in the middle of the night. It's as though Jesus is comparing himself to a thief who takes what doesn't belong to him. I think sometimes we're tempted to think of Jesus in that way. When we lose something, maybe a job or some other thing, or maybe a person, a loved one, we lose that loved one or perhaps when we're preparing to lose our lives, that our lives will end. We feel that God is taking something that belongs to us and not to God. But the reality is, all that we are, all that we have, really belongs to God. St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians said, do you not realize that you have been purchased? You are not your own. You have been purchased at a price, the price of the precious blood of Jesus. We are not our own. And when the Lord comes and asks of us to surrender our lives into his hands Jesus is telling us in the gospel, be ready. Don't resist. Let go. And let God. We are preparing to let go of those things that especially get in the way of our relationship with God and one another the things that keep us from loving God and our neighbor. What St. Paul in our second reading called works of darkness. I like to say that we are here on earth to learn how to live in heaven. And to live the lift that was described for us in that first reading from Isaiah. Beautiful picture of God's mountain where there is no more fighting, no more war, but everyone is at peace with God and with one another. During this advent we're preparing ourselves to live more closely the life of heaven. To walk in the light of the Lord. To be at peace with God and with one another. Before we bring our prayers now to the Lord, let us pray, united as one, the creed, the Apostles Creed that the church gives us and that we will be praying with people throughout the world this day as a sign that we want the peace that God wants for us. Permission to podcast/stream the music in this liturgy obtained from ONE LICENSE, License No. A-718591. www.HeartoftheNation.org