My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As the world around us shifts its focus to the Christmassy season with shopping and holiday music, we, as a Catholic family, are called to a different rhythm. While the secular world rushes, we are called to slow down. While it shouts, we are called to listen. Advent is our sacred season, a time of holy anticipation that is unfamiliar to the world, but is the very heartbeat of our faith.

This year, our Advent Recollection was themed “Awake, and Arise!”

Let us truly Awake from the slumber of complacency and Arise to prepare a worthy dwelling place for our Lord in our hearts, our homes, our parish, and our community. We are not merely remembering a historical event; we are actively preparing for His coming—both in the celebration of His Nativity and in His glorious return.

To guide our journey through these four weeks, we will focus on the beautiful pillars of Advent, but with a renewed depth. We will explore not just general concepts, but the profound, transformative power of their Biblical foundations:

• The First Week of Advent: Biblical Hope
  The candle of Prophecy. The hope that Jesus will come again in glory. Reflect on ‘where in my life do I need new hope’?
• The Second Week of Advent: Biblical Peace
  The candle of Bethlehem. The peace of Christ which calls us to reconciliation with one another. Reflect on ‘what blocks peace in me?’
• The Third Week of Advent: Biblical Joy
  The candle of Shepherds. The joy that the Lord is near. A call for us to truly reach out to the poor, helpless and the needy. Reflect on ‘what joy is God trying to awaken in me?’
• The Fourth Week of Advent: Biblical Love
  The candle of Angels. The loving presence of Jesus as with the angels we sign “Glory to God in the highest!” The call for us to be full of Jesus and not full of ourselves.

To make this journey tangible, I want to encourage every home to make a special effort with your Advent Wreath. Let it be the visible, flickering heart of your home’s prayer life.

Do not let its light be confined to Sundays. I invite you to light your Advent candles each day, in the morning or before your evening meal. As you light them, read a brief Scripture, and reflect on the questions above.

Let us journey together through this holy season, awake and alert, building a culture of prayer and expectation. Let us prepare the way of the Lord, so that when Christmas dawns, we will not be weary from the world’s festivities, but radiant with the true Light of Christ.

Awake! Arise! He is near.

In the hope of His coming,

Rev Fr Leonard Lexson
Parish Priest
Church of the Assumption, PJ