We are to start a new liturgical year with a spirit of humility and repentace of past errors and with a new trust in our God! The readings help us and urge us on our way of on going conversion. The propher Isiah puts in our hearts and on our lips a prayer: it’s the prayer of who remember the many blessings received from a God who is good, a God who has a Father’s heart! It’s the prayer of the one who suffers because those blessings lack… asking why…the answer is to be found in a disobedient and ungrateful life. It’s the prayer of the one who renews hope, for a God who is so watchful and generous cannot hide his face for long and "must" remember of his children and come down to them!

We make ours this prayer without any difficulty for we too suffer and we too need, unfortunately, to confess that we have forgot to call his name and to get closer to him. We who have fallen so low don’t have the strength to wake up again if not through the power that God himself shall give us: we call him "Our Father", to remind ourselves that true life has no other source than Him. We look up at Him and He feels committed and "obliged" to shower us still with signs of His love!

The apostle Paul, introducing the letter to the Corinthians, tells us about the gifts of grace that God gave us. All possible gifts were entrusted to us "in Christ Jesus"! He is the sign of the Father’s kindness, forgiveness, and tenderness. Jesus is the assurance of God’s presence amongst us. When He is in us and amongst us, we lack nothing! We are enriched with all the gifts of grace: we have the Word of God and his acquaintance. Our only expectation is the "manifestation of Our Lord Jesus Christ"! His manifestation shall be for us a fullness of life, the end of all that passes, the beginning of eternity! We await impatiently, no, with patience! We cannot wait for the hour to come, meanwhile let us be faithful!

In today’s gospel Jesus warns us to be "watchful"! With this word, He urge us to put on an attitude of being always with our eyes fixed on Him. To be watchful means never to forget that we are awaiting, therefore that we live constantly in view of meeting Him. Now we don’t see Him, but He shall come. For sure He shall come, even though He makes us wait. While awaiting with patience, we remain faithful to what we are to do. When Jesus ascended to heaven, he gave duties to be carried out and powers to be excersied only for the duties entrusted. To be watchful, therefore, means to continue to serve faithfully knowing that the Lord shall return!

This Advent Season is a time that help us excersie ourselves in the awaiting of the Lord, is to remind us not to forget of His coming at the end of times, and therefore to remind to be faithful to our duties! Therefore, let us look back to repent from what we didn’t do, renew our faith and start again to call on the name of the Lord as we get closer to Him: these words of Isaih are to help us not only to pray, but also to renew our resolution.