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And so, we begin our preparation for Christmas with a passage from the gospel of Mark that does not mention Mary, Joseph or the stories from scripture that we tend to associate with the Christmas period.

It is too soon for that. Advent is the season we have just begun and although a time for preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus that took place in the past, the gospel today challenges us to bring that reality into our present.

We do not know the day or the hour when the master will come. We must always be ready to expect him. The period of Advent is a time of waiting, a time of anticipation. We must stay awake so that amidst all the distractions of the world the message of Christmas – that God is with us – is never lost but remains our reason for celebration.

“The beautiful task of Advent is to awaken

in all of us memories of goodness and thus

to open the doors of hope.”

(Pope Benedict XVI)