Let your foot off the gas!

This is the Second Sunday of Advent, and as I reflected on today's readings, I was remembering the day my dad died.  On October 25, I was driving as fast as I could (and as safely too) from Colorado Springs, Colorado when I received a phone call at 2:41 (MST).  It was my brother and he told me that there was no more need to hurry.  From that moment on, I started driving in a very different manner.  It felt as though I was in a surreal place where time stood still.  In that stillness, however, for the next 10 hours, I was able to sit in solitude as I prayed, felt, and journeyed home.  The reason this came to mind was that in Advent, we are reminded of our very real need to slow down and become aware of God in our lives.  All too often, like me, we speed through life trying to get "there" where ever that may be, and in the rush, we are left in a state of knowing about Christ, but never truly knowing Him.  As we celebrate this second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to slow down and enjoy the time to pray and to become aware that God has indeed "comforted" His people.  We have each been gifted with the grace of knowing Him and carrying the light of Christ, but it is all too often overlooked by the darkness of sin and doubt that we may sometimes fall into.  In our journey, let's slow down, and allow God's love to help us prepare a place in our beings that will receive Christ and proclaim Him, in turn, to a world too busy to slow down and appreciate His grace here and now.  Peace and blessings.  Fr. Rick.