“In days to come,

the mountain of the LORD's house

shall be established as the highest mountain

and raised above the hills.

All nations shall stream toward it;

many peoples shall come and say:

‘Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may instruct us in his ways,

and we may walk in his paths.’”

Today we step across a threshold. With the First Sunday of Advent, a new liturgical year opens before us. It is not simply a change in the calendar, but a grace-filled invitation to a new beginning. Advent is a season of waiting, anticipation, and expectation. While we wait for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, we wait even more for the Lord to break into our lives here and now.

The readings this weekend speak directly into that longing. Isaiah gives us the great vision of the mountain of the Lord, to which “all nations shall stream,” and where God himself will teach us how to walk in his ways. This vision is not only about the future; it reveals what God desires to do in us today. Advent reminds us that God is always drawing us upward: toward conversion, toward hope, toward a life shaped more deeply by his truth and love.

Paul echoes this urgency when he writes, “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.” Advent is a spiritual alarm clock. It calls us to shake off old patterns, to let go of the sins and habits that dull our hearts, and to step into the light of Christ. A new day truly has dawned. In Jesus, the “Christ event” begins, the turning point of all human history and the turning point of every personal story willing to be touched by grace.

The Gospel intensifies this invitation by reminding us to “stay awake.” Not with anxiety, but with readiness. Jesus’s birth was the beginning of something entirely new: God entering our world, sharing our life, healing what is broken, and leading us back to the Father. It is the dawn of a new day! The question Advent poses is simple and profound: Do we desire a new beginning? Do we want Christ to break into our lives again with fresh power?

I know that such new beginnings are possible. One of the most significant turning points in my own life happened in 1993 while I was stationed with the Air Force in Texas. I attended a day of reflection where the Sacrament of Reconciliation was offered. Although I had been to confession many times before, this was the first time I was truly, fully, and deeply honest with God and with myself. It was powerful. Grace flooded in. A new horizon opened in my life, one marked by humility, hope, and surprising joy. It changed me. And it taught me that God is eager and patient, always ready to meet us the moment we turn toward him.

Advent offers that same grace to each of us. If you need a fresh start in your faith, your family, your prayer, or your moral life, this is your season! Let Isaiah’s vision inspire you. Let Paul’s wake-up call stir you. Let the Gospel’s invitation to stay awake guide you. And let the coming of Christ—gentle, humble, and small—begin again in you. May this Advent be the start of something new and beautiful in your life and in our parish community. Let us climb the mountain of the Lord together!