1st Sunday of Advent

“Light From Light: Bringing Advent Home”

Today we begin a new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent—a season of preparation, longing, and anticipation. We wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only as we remember His birth in Bethlehem, but also as we look forward to His coming again in glory. Advent is the Church’s way of helping us wake up, pay attention, and open our hearts to what God wants to do in us.

And Saint Paul says it so clearly today in the Letter to the Romans: “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.” He reminds us that our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. He urges us to throw off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light. That’s a powerful image—the armor of light—and it fits perfectly with this season, because Advent is all about light breaking into darkness.

Light is one of the central symbols of Advent. Each week we light a new candle, a small and simple flame, but one that pushes back the darkness. Today we light the first candle—a quiet but steady reminder that Christ is the Light of the World. And we are called to live as children of that light.

You may have noticed something different this morning. There is no Advent wreath in the sanctuary. That’s intentional. The Advent wreath began not in churches, but in homes. Long before Christianity, the ancient Druids would take the wooden wheels off their wagons during the harsh winter months. They brought them indoors to protect them from cracking in the cold, and they decorated them with greenery and candles as a sign of life and hope during the dark season of winter.

When Christianity spread, this custom was transformed. The circle became a symbol of God’s eternal love—without beginning or end. The greenery became a sign of life that never fades. And the candles became symbols of hope, peace, joy, and love leading us to the birth of Christ. Only much later did this home tradition make its way into our churches.

And while the wreath is beautiful in church, we must not forget where it belongs. It was meant to sanctify the home. To bring the light of Christ into the domestic church—your living rooms, your kitchens, your family tables. Too often, we leave our faith at the church doors. We pray here, we worship here, we receive the sacraments here, but then we go home and live as if nothing has changed. Advent is the season that invites us to break that pattern.

This year, I want to encourage you to bring Advent home. If you have a wreath, use it. If you don’t, make one. It doesn’t have to be perfect—just something that reminds you that Christ is coming. Light a candle each week with your family. Offer a prayer. Talk about the meaning of the season. Let Advent unfold not only in this church, but in your home, in your conversations, your relationships, your daily routines.

This Advent also has a special significance for the Church. It marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, and our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, recently traveled to Turkey to commemorate this historic moment. It was at Nicaea that the Church gave us the Nicene Creed—the words we profess every Sunday. And in that Creed we proclaim, “Light from Light, true God from true God.” The bishops of Nicaea wanted the world to know that Jesus is not just a good teacher or a holy man—He is the divine Son of God. He is the Light who comes into the world to scatter the darkness of sin and death.

So as we begin this Advent journey, let us hear Saint Paul’s call personally: wake from your spiritual sleep. Cast off the works of darkness. Put on the armor of light. Let Christ’s light shine in the places of your life that need hope, or healing, or peace.

And may the lighting of this first candle be more than a ritual. May it be a spark—a beginning—of a deeper conversion, a brighter hope, and a joyful expectation. May this flame remind us that the night is fading, the day is at hand, and Christ our Light is drawing near.