First Sunday of Advent
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“You must be prepared.” Like the Kingdom of God, like the Sacred Heart of Jesus, like an intimate relationship with God and with his Holy Family, Advent is a sacred time and a holy season we must enter into and pray for the grace that Advent may graciously enter into our hearts, our homes, our schools, our workplaces and our families. Advent draws us and calls us to be still and to enter into that quiet place inside of us reserved for God.  Are you truly ready to welcome your King and the gift of healing and peace his presence brings? Can you imagine Mary and Joseph not having a place to welcome the newborn king? Can you imagine your heart as a home, a place of prayer, an altar, a manger? Our imagination is such a precious tool. We could use our spiritual imagination to imagine the scenes of scripture.  What it was like, who was there, what they said, what they experienced. By using our spiritual imagination, we can be with God and God can be with us in every situation. We can see and experience where God is acting in our lives and how his hand is guiding us. We can imagine what God’s beauty is like, what the people in Jesus’ time experienced, what heaven must look like.  This brings me peace. Imagine God as a potter and we are clay. What good is clay on its own? What can it do on its own? What can it create on its own? Nothing. It will dry, crack and be good for nothing. However, in the hands of God, in the hands of our Creator, all things are possible. Imagine this Advent being molded into a font to hold holy water or a dish that can feed the hungry or hold the Body of Christ. How about being molded into a cup to give water to the needy or a chalice to hold the precious Blood of Christ or being molded into the image of Christ in a manger or crucified on the Cross. All the beautiful possibilities if we would allow ourselves this season to be formed, shaped, and even chiseled into the precious and beautiful image we were created in.  Imagine being used for the purpose you were destined for, to love, welcome and serve our Lord in the depths of your heart and in the people you encounter in life. So pray and “be prepared for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

 

Reflections from the Heart – November 13, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - November 13, 2022
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo Jesus said, "All that you see here--the days will come when there ...

Reflections from the Heart – November 6, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - November 6, 2022
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and ...

Reflections from the Heart – October 30, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - October 30, 2022
31st Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, ...

Reflections from the Heart – October 23, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - October 23, 2022
30th Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest ...

Reflections from the Heart – October 16, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - October 16, 2022
29th Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Jesus told his disciples to pray always without becoming weary.” Are you ...

Reflections from the Heart – October 9, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - October 9, 2022
28th Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “The Lord has made his salvation known; All the ends of the ...

Reflections from the Heart – October 2, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - October 2, 2022
27th Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “We are unprofitable servants.” A command tends to come to us from ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 25, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - September 25, 2022
26th Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 18, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - September 18, 2022
25th Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “The steward said to himself, what shall I do; I am not ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 11, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - September 11, 2022
24th Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “I have been mercifully treated.”  I am often asked by family and ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 4, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - September 4, 2022
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be ...

Reflections from the Heart – August 28, 2022

Reflections from the Heart - August 28, 2022
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Humble yourself and you will find favor with God.” When I contemplate ...