What do you plan to do while you wait for the coming of the Lord? Stay awake, listen, watch, be prepared?

On radios and in shopping malls people are beginning to hear the words, "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why . . ." And in today's gospel, Mark is offering similar advice.

Watch. That’s what Jesus has to say to his disciples today. Watch! While a single word makes for a poor homily and an inferior lesson plan, it does help to ask ourselves: Are we watching for something, or guarding against it? And how will we know what it is when it arrives?

FOR THOSE OF US who have a hard time heeding Jesus' advice to stay awake, particularly during Mass, today's liturgy might just capture our attention--and keep us on our toes.

When I was a kid all the guys in my neighborhood played a kind of game--or was it a form of torture?--called "Think quick!"

Like so many others before and after me, when I was in college I discovered the power of caffeine. I could stay up all night and prepare for an exam. With my photographic memory it was just a matter of going over the material enough times to imprint it in my brain.

As the season of Advent begins, we are watchful for the coming of the Lord and for the grace to receive him.

You do not know when the lord of the house is coming. In a brief story, Jesus says his return may happen "in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow"--in other words, at night. Many other places in scripture depict night as something the light of God dispels.

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharp. --Bertrand Russell