Watching for Christ in Advent

Advent is the time to prepare and to watch.  What follows are parts of a sermon given by St. John Henry Cardinal Newman. 

"Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh; at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch."

Newman starts out this way: Now I consider this word watching, first used by our Lord, then by the favored Disciple, John, then by the two great Apostles, Peter and Paul, is a remarkable word, remarkable because the idea is not so obvious as might appear at first sight, and next because they all inculcate it. We are not simply to believe, but to watch; not simply to love, but to watch; not simply to obey, but to watch; to watch for what? for that great event, Christ's coming. Whether then we consider what is the obvious meaning of the word, or the Object towards which it directs us, we seem to see a special duty enjoined on us, such as does not naturally come into our minds. Most of us have a general idea what is meant by believing, fearing, loving, and obeying; but perhaps we do not contemplate or apprehend what is meant by watching.

He watches for Christ who has a sensitive, eager, apprehensive mind; who is awake, alive, quick-sighted, zealous in seeking and honoring Him; who looks out for Him in all that happens, and who would not be surprised, who would not be over-agitated or overwhelmed, if he found that He was coming at once.

Many people up to a certain point are religious, but they do not watch. Their notion of religion is briefly this: loving God indeed, but loving this world too;. . . . Without denying to these persons the praise of many religious habits and practices, I would say that they want the tender and sensitive heart which hangs on the thought of Christ, and lives in His love. The breath of the world has a peculiar power in what may be called rusting the soul. The mirror within them, instead of reflecting back the Son of God their Savior, has become dim and discolored; and hence, though (to use a common expression) they have a good deal of good in them, it is only in them, it is not through them, around them, and upon them. 

[A]s a rust preys upon metal and eats into it, so does this worldly spirit penetrate more and more deeply into the soul which once allows it in. Newman concludes that Advent preparation is the time to rub away the rust “and keep the soul in a measure of its baptismal purity and brightness.” 

Let us use Advent to prepare the way.