The Christmas season ends at tonight’s vigil Mass.  But we may feast a little longer as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.

On Monday we return to Ordinary time which does not mean that we should become complacent in our faith.  Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and all of the feast days of the Church remind us to turn back to the Lord when we fall face down in the dust of our sins. They shake us up out of our laziness, and they remind us, as we wait in joyful hope, to be vigilant;  to remain watchful; to prepare for the time when we will meet Jesus face to face.

It is in the green of Ordinary time that we do most of our growing.

If, however, your Advent and Christmas was not as spiritually productive and life changing as you hoped, you can still, perhaps with a lot of aches and pains, pull yourself up from the dust, clean yourself up, and stand up straight before the Lord. Of course you might have to do a lot of kneeling first.

Our God is a God of mercy and love. He waits eagerly, like the father of the prodigal son, for us to come running into his loving arms. God is the God of endless chances. He is always ready to forgive us, restore us, and transform us.

We always need, however, to keep in mind that we are mortal. We do not know when our personal end time will be.

Make haste! Let the Lord fill your heart!