Every morning can be a struggle. The alarm clock is ringing. Do I have to get up now? I can press the SNOOZE button...I do not have to get up right away...I need more rest. There are so many things that I need to do today.

When I was younger, I used to jump out of bed as soon as I heard the ringing of the alarm clock. What a Joy. I could go jogging and refill my lungs with fresh air.

As I am getting older, I get up more and more slowly. My entire body aches. I fell the other day stupidly not paying attention to what was right in front of me: I was sleep-walking and did not see a low concrete wall (a few inches tall)... My guardian angel protected me: I fell on my two elbows! My head did not hit the concrete of the sidewalk. Not a single bone was broken. Praise the Lord! Only bruises and some minor wounds. However, I may have aggravated my daily back pain...

The aches in the morning are getting worse. My legs are weaker as the back hurts more...I still say a short prayer: "Thank you God for having given me a restful night. Give me the strength to do YOUR WILL today." I take a deep breath... HOLY SPIRIT, guide my steps today. Another day... always a new day...

Only God knows what will happen today...I only know that at the end of the day just before midnight I will be in bed thanking God for another day and asking Him for a restful night. I make sure my alarm clock is set for 6:03 am. Exhausted, I fall asleep right away. Another night... Then another day: WAKE UP! STAY AWAKE!

We all have different routines in the morning. We may use the SNOOZE button, giving us more time to rest...Or we may do stretching exercises, or we may go running outdoors. I invite you to think about this ADVENT Sea- son as a WAKE-UP CALL, a TIME TO CHANGE YOUR DAILY ROUTINE... A TIME TO LOOK UP TO CHRIST. Last week, JESUS reminded us that we do not know the day nor the hour when HE will come back to judge us: the End of Time (or our natural death). He reminded us that WE HAVE TO BE READY EVERYDAY. We have to BE PREPARED TODAY!

This coming Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent, JOHN THE BAPTIST, the last prophet to announce the coming of the Messiah, is crying out in the desert to all of us: " REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND!" We know that the coming on earth of Jesus is THE BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH, the FIRST COMING OF JESUS CHRIST: GOD BECOMING MAN.

REPENT! ADVENT IS A TIME TO REPENT! A TIME 

TO GO BACK TO CONFESSION! Pray in silence in front of the Blessed Sacrament (Exposed or in the Tabernacle). Ask Jesus to help you make a good examen of conscience. Review the 10 Commandments. What are the sins that you have committed since your last confession? What are the sins you may have never confessed, because of being ashamed to mention them to a priest? Who are the people you may have not forgiven? There is no sin that God will not forgive. God sent His Son to save us. COME TO OUR ADVENT PENANCE SERVICE 7 PM MONDAY DECEMBER 5! WE WILL HAVE 12 PRIESTS. Receive the transforming power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: a personal encounter with Christ. I encourage everyone to come. We pray that many of our children, youth and their parents will come!

WAKE UP!!! ...STAY AWAKE!!! We are all sleepwalking ...May this Advent be a WAKE-UP CALL: WAKE UP AND STAY AWAKE!!! Stop sleepwalking. We are attached to the world and all its trappings. We are looking down. We rarely look up to God. We lose our sense of purpose. We do not know where we are going. We rarely think about God who has created us and wants each one of us to return to Him in Heaven. We are anxious about things of the world. None of them will last. They will all pass away. Only God does not change. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior, is crying out: "I AM COMING! BE PREPARED! WALK WITH ME THIS ADVENT! I AM YOUR LIGHT! I LOVE YOU! GET OUT OF THE DARKNESS OF THE WORLD! RECONCILE WITH ME! ASK FOR FORGIVENESS! I AM COMING TODAY! WALK IN MY LIGHT: I AM THE LIGHT OF HOPE, THE LIGHT OF PEACE, THE LIGHT OF JOY, THE LIGHT OF LOVE!

Wishing all of you and your families and friends a most blessed Advent!



One in Christ,

Fr. Alain