1st Sunday of Advent (C)

Short Reflection for the 1^st Sunday of Advent (A)

Readings: Isaiah 2: 1-5; Romans 13: 11-14; Matthew 24: 37- 44

Selected Gospel Passage:  “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your 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.  (Matthew 24: 42-43)

Reflection:  Advent Season invites us to be vigilant, to be strong, to be prayerful, to be able to welcome the coming of the Lord. Beware that our hearts do not go astray by the trappings of Christmas. Our feasting, drinking and sometimes even our excesses in the celebration of Christmas draw us away to the true spirit of becoming “vigilant” and “staying awake” for coming of the Lord.

In the coming Sundays, the readings will tells us of how truly we should prepare for Christmas – reject our sins and turn to the Lord; and reform our lives by making our crooked ways straight.  Let us then be VIGILANT at all times and pray that we have the strength to accept the Lord when he comes to our lives in the ordinary act of charity to those in need. Therefore, STAY AWAKE!Be at all times and pray that we stand ready to welcome Lord into our lives. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

Folks,

1. The Dhikr prayer is intimately linked to the Badaliyya movement – a legacy identified with two witnesses of Christian presence in the world of Islam - Fr. Louis Massignon and Fr. Charles de Foucauld.
2. The association with the Badaliyya movement is one of the many legacies of my stay in Egypt.

1^st step: Write the Dhikr in your heart.

2^nd step: Let the Dhikr remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the dihkr silently as often as possible...

3^rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the Dhikr in your life.