Advent is a time of patience and hope.  Both of these virtues entail waiting.  Waiting for God is sometimes very difficult, especially in trying situations.  Our faith in Jesus, who is God with us and faithful to his promises, bolsters our ability to wait for him with joyful hope.  Our faith overcomes the tribulation of the world and even makes us peaceful in the face of possible persecution.  

Christ's supreme manifestation as King will come when he returns to judge the living and the dead.  Until then, we have to remain patient with his will for us.  Jesus uses his power to serve others and he hides his power in order to suffer for sin.  At times, we might naturally wish for him to establish his kingdom sooner, putting an end to evil and suffering.  But we should always trust in his plan for our holiness and redemption, which is that we follow the longer and slower path that he himself followed.  

Jesus often calls us to vigilance.  We know neither the time nor the hour of his second coming and the time of our own death is certain but unknown to us.  The best preparation for our judgment is found in discerning and doing the will of God. 

Our Faith should give us great confidence in God.  Waiting around for a feeling of confidence, however, rarely ever works.  Rather we should treat our Faith more like the robust Truth that it is.  Faith is just true, whether we feel like it is or not.  This feeling dependent view of faith ends up filling us with the courage and confidence that we need and want. 

On the Feast of All Saints we reflect on what makes saints holy.  God's gift of divine filiation is at the core of sanctity.  As children of God, the saints experience a freedom that was and is Christ's own liberty.  We pray for a greater desire to be like them on earth so we can be with them in heaven.  

The question of our personal identity is crucial to life.  Our identity is tied to our closest relationships and our life’s mission.  The deepest truth of who we are, however, is something we find in God and receive from Him, not something we have to figure out entirely on our own. By living the life God wants for us, we become our true selves and discover our true names. 

Moses struggles on a hilltop to keep his hands up in prayer while a battle rages down on the field.  The fight's outcome depends on Moses' effort in prayer.  Our prayers also make a real difference in the lives of others and of the world.  Inspired by Scripture, which is living and active, our time in prayer gives new life to our ordinary tasks and interactions.  

Jesus heals ten lepers but only one comes back to thank him.  An image of sin, their leprosy is cured when they are on the way to see "the priests."  Jesus appreciates the gratitude of the Samaritan who returned after being cured and finds fault with the other nine.  Constant gratitude is a way of loving our Lord and of assuring our own increase in saving faith. 

The Sermon on the Mount is the core of Jesus's teaching on how to live with faith.  At once challenging and comforting, Jesus's vision of faith calls us to a radical dependence on God and detachment from all other goods.  At the heart of faith is an unshakable trust in God's infinite love for us.  This conviction frees us to live without fear and to strive for virtue without anxiety.  To have a living faith, however, takes personal prayer: times in which we apply the basic truths of our faith in God to the concrete circumstances and concerns of our current lives.    

Jesus' parable of the talents is an image of Christian life.  God has invested a lot in each one of us.  Like the servants who eagerly trade with their talents to make them fruitful, we want to accept all the opportunities and challenges that our Lord has entrusted to us.  Too often it is easy to resent life, focusing only on the difficulties, and end up like the third servant who buries his talent out of laziness and fear.