Msgr. Charles Pope: An Advent Recipe for Readiness (Sunday Guide)

By Msgr. Charles Pope, National Catholic Register, November 28, 2025

Msgr. Charles Pope Msgr. Charles Pope is currently a dean and pastor in the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, where he has served on the Priest Council, the College of Consultors, and the Priest Personnel Board. Along with publishing a daily blog at the Archdiocese of Washington website, he has written in pastoral journals, conducted numerous retreats for priests and lay faithful, and has also conducted weekly Bible studies in the U.S. Congress and the White House. He was named a Monsignor in 2005.

The second reading from the Mass gives us a basic recipe for readiness …

Sunday, Nov. 30, is the First Sunday of Advent. Mass readings:

 Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44.

The first weeks of Advent focus more on the Lord’s second coming in glory than on his first coming at Bethlehem. The Gospel clearly states that we must always be prepared, for at an hour we do not expect, the Son of Man will come. But how should we be ready? The second reading from the Mass gives us a basic recipe for readiness.

… you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake.

What St. Paul is really saying here is that we must be alert and aware of what is happening. We need to be morally awake and responsible for our actions. We must not engage in worldly, irrelevant, dreamy thinking that is not rooted in reality or is fundamentally absurd in its premises. …

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