"For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

Introductory Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, you constantly remind us that this life is passing and it is important to be prepared for death. That's why I trust in you and your love. I want to keep my eyes on the goal. You are my goal. I know that at the end of my life the only thing that will matter will be what I did for others because what I do for others I also do for you. As I begin this Advent Season, I will work to prepare my heart for you r coming by using every gift you have given me to reach other souls.

Petition: Increase in my soul a love for you and for my neighbor.

1. For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Nobody can escape the reality of death. We all die one day, but only God knows when it will happen. There is much in life to clutter our days; there is much to fill our time, novelties and experiences that are there for the taking. Trinkets, possessions, ambitions, friends. It is so easy for all this, much of it necessary, to become the only thing, forgetting that they will all pass, one day we will die and be judged on our love. But it is the very fact that it is passing that makes time important. For people in the business world, time is money, when we realize that we are baptized for a purpose, time is where we build Christ's Kingdom. Every second is a gift from God that we cannot live over again. We are only given one chance to make the most out of the time God gives us. We must use the gift of time for His glory.

2. So too, you also must be prepared. There is no human success without foresight. There will be no spiritual success without looking ahead. Planning, strategizing, and reflecting this is all part of the process to carry out a successful business plan. How much thought and time do we give to the "business" of our salvation? Have I taken time to think where I am going, what I need to do, w hat precisely is preventing the image of Christ and the love of Christ from shining out in my life, with a view to living my life more on target? When we discover those things we need to change, we can very easily re-orient our heart and our standards, but the business of making that effective in my life is what takes time. We need grace, and we need to be ready to battle a long time to uproot our bad habit and make new habits out of the virtues that will more reflect my new life in Christ, It is not "natural" to become Christ-like; it takes grace, for which we must ask in prayer and by going to the sacraments, and we need to overcome our natural tendency to mediocrity and conformism. Christ in this gospel passage urges us not to leave this work for later. "Be prepared." We need to start preparing now for our definitive encounter with Christ.

3. We will be judged on our love. Even in our Christian life, we are easily absorbed in doing more and not nearly enough in loving more. But we cannot give what we do not have; we need to be plugged into Christ. Practical activity will always be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a love for man, a love nourished by an encounter with Christ. (God is Love, Pope Benedict XVI, n. 34). Time spent in prayer is always time well spent. This burning love in the Heart of Christ is transmitted to our hearts in prayer. It is only in the quiet calm of prayer that we can directly hear how much Christ wants to love the world through us. Christ wants to love so many souls through our lives, and he is begging us for help!

Conversation: Lord Jesus, I often use my time and talents to seek my own happiness selfishly. Help me to understand that, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:34). Help me to imitate your example, live the present moment to the full, giving myself without ever counting the cost.

Questionnaire:

1. In what way do my actions show that I believe this life is temporary and eternal life is what matters most? How does my use of time reflect this?

2. What sins do I still have to eradicate from my life, and what is the main habit, virtue I need to grow in?

3. What am I doing for my neighbor?