HOMILY: First Sunday of Advent (A)
Isaiah 2:1-5 / Psalm 122:1-9 / Romans 13:11-14 / Matthew 24:37-44
30 November 2025
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
Are you good at taking selfies? Some people are such experts — alam na nila agad (they know right away) where the light is, how to angle their face, how to get the best shot. I do not quite get the hang of it myself. I end up making multiple attempts — adjusting and readjusting — moving to the side, lifting the phone a little higher, searching for that spot where the light finally hits my face right. The secret, I am told, is in angling your face towards the light. When the light is low, you will not get a great picture, but in the best light, everything becomes clearer, warmer, more alive.
The observance of Advent is like that. It is a time of turning towards the light and lifting our eyes towards Christ, allowing His light to reveal our best selves — as God envisions us. In our First Reading, the Prophet Isaiah sees God raising His mountain for all to see, so His people will always know where to seek Him and how to seek His guidance. However, they will still have to climb to ascend the mountain to find the Lord. The Psalm shows pilgrims going uphill — ordinary people lifting their feet, one step at a time, trusting in God’s promise, seeking His peace and prosperity.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us that we must live “as in the day,” — to act as though the day of the Lord was at hand. To turn towards the light, is to learn to live consistently in the light. If we desire to be in God’s presence one day, each day we must move closer and closer towards the light — essentially ascending the mountain and overcoming challenges in our path. Advent is a time for us to pause and recognize what keeps us low; what deters us from the ascent, what keeps us in darkness. Sometimes, it is not even the big sins but the small habits and behaviors that keep us from focusing on Christ — the late-night scrolling that steals our peace, the small resentments we replay, the tone of voice that brings an atmosphere of tension into our home. In the Gospel, Jesus warns us not about dramatic sin but about spiritual sleepiness — that low, dull way of living where we stop noticing God and stop noticing one another.
Lifting our life does not mean changing everything. It means choosing one small upward step at a time. Maybe we pause for five minutes of quiet before checking our mobile phones. Maybe we soften our tone when frustration rises. Maybe we give full attention when a child, a spouse, a friend, or a parent speaks. Maybe we stop ourselves mid-complaint because we can feel it lowering our spirit. These small lifts raise the whole picture of our lives. So Advent asks us: Which part of our life needs to rise just one level higher? Not dramatically — just lifted a little toward God. When we raise anything toward the Light, the Light does the rest. Just like those excellent selfie-takers who know where to stand — we only need the courage to move toward the Light.
This Advent, may we yearn to turn our faces to the Light. May we patiently help each other in our ascent of God’s mountain, even if we are seemingly inching our way up. Let God’s radiance make everything clearer, kinder, and more alive, enabling us to see one another for who we are — Children of the Light!
Sunday Gospel Reflections 