As always, the alarm went off at 4 AM today. But this was not just any day, and the wake-up call was filled with more than the simple expectations of other days. This was the wake-up call that comes from the readings of the 1st Sunday of Advent:

Brethren, knowing that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is past and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)

For us here at Serendipity Farmhouse and for millions throughout the world, this day marks the beginning of a new year; a year that renews a cycle of the divine promise and its fulfillment. With knowledge that the promise will be and is fulfilled, it is essential to take the time and to make the time in this season of Advent to pray to cast off the works of darkness; to prepare for our salvation; and to preserve in the heart of our family all that sustains the armor of light.

During Advent, our posts will be much as they usually are. There will be the practicality that is a happy part of our rural life. And of course, there will be humor wherever it can be found. To be sure, Mr. Monte will have a word or two to put Fuzzy in his proper place and to correct all of our human failings. But at the same time, we will attempt to reflect some of our Benedictine understanding of life as proclaimed in the Rule of St. Benedict, 43,3:

Ergo nihil operi Dei præponatur.
Indeed, nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God.