LIVING THE LITURGY TODAY
Living the Liturgy Commentary on the Liturgical Year By The Monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey
3 DECEMBER – 1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Fr. Jay Kythe, O.S.B.
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ave you ever said that “a part of me would like to do…” or “a part of me feels …”? We all have said something like that. We are created with “parts” or different roles we may take on at different times throughout our lives. Part of the great adventure of life is that these roles keep changing and shifting. In this Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Advent, we have the image of a man traveling abroad and leaving his household in the hands of servants. If we were to consider this household as our soul, there would be different “parts” of us assigned to different tasks. And a very important role is that of a gatekeeper. The traveler assigns him the role to “keep watch.” What is he to do when he keeps watch? First of all, it is for the traveler, waiting patiently for his return.
6 | December 2023
KansasMonks.org
Other servants do other things; a busy mother will be taking care of the children, a young man will have to study, a part of the person acts as a caretaker of the household, of infirm family members, of pets, and so on. That same person may have a gatekeeper, watching and waiting for the presence of Christ. That same gatekeeper would have to keep out undesirable passers-by. For us, that could be all the temptations we suffer, bad news we hear that threatens to disturb us, distractions that pull the gatekeeper away from waiting for the owner of the house. That same gatekeeper would have to keep messengers of the owner in, the messages we can get when we kneel down and pray. By now it must be clear as to who this traveler is: it is the Lord! And He asks us to “Be watchful! Be alert!” In the ordinariness of daily life, it is easy to become
