Advent is the time when we can look back to the first coming of Christ, the Incarnate Word (Jn. 1:14). At Christmas, through the Blessed Mother, the child Jesus came to live among us. It’s also a time to look forward to His “second Coming”, to reveal everything about His Kingdom. The first coming is an eternal gift that is still given every time we allow Jesus to be born in our HEARTS. Christmas is the time to prepare our hearts, by purifying our hearts from anything that prevents us from receiving Jesus’ 1st Coming. Advent therefore becomes that joyful anticipation of His Coming (Christmas).

Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth says, “The Kingdom of God is not a thing, it is not a geographical dominion like the worldly kingdoms, but the kingdom of God is a person… The way Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God, He leads men to realize the overwhelming fact that with Him God Himself is present among us, that He is the presence of God.” Jesus tried to tell this to his contemporaries especially the Scribes and the Pharisees; that the Kingdom of God is already in their midst, that the King of this Kingdom was among them but they did not recognize him.

The Book of Daniel in the 1st reading describes the apocalyptic hour, where the prophet sees the final act of God. In the final battle between good and evil, Michael, a prince and guardian, will protect God’s people. This is probably the same Michael described in Rev. 12:7, as an angel who fought to drive the dragon out of heaven with his minions. Both in Daniel as in Revelation, the hour is the battle between good and evil, right and wrong, God’s angels and Satan’s minions.

What is generous giving? The poor widow in the gospel might have given very little, but Jesus, knowing the heart behind the giving said, “She has given more than everyone who gave into the treasury.” (Mk. 12:43) For the poor widow, that little was everything. She sacrificed from her poverty, her whole livelihood, denying probably everything for herself. But in spite of this, her whole-hearted giving did not make her feel that she was being deprived of anything. The poor widow was not afraid of giving everything she had.

Once a year, we get to honor all the Saints together with a big feast day, November 1, the Solemnity of All the Saints. This year is no different except that it falls on a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, thus adds a different flavor to the Solemnity with the Lord’s Day still as the central theme.

For me, the many different saints are the best examples of how to be another Jesus in the world we live. When I want to embrace Jesus in, with and for the poor, I have the wonderful example of St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Theresa of Calcutta.