Before the face of Jesus.

Wearing clean clothes
St. Bernard worked zealously for the conversion of sinners. He was not afraid to visit, even the various inns and other places where sinful people gathered. Once he played with his …at a pool hall. Here one of them asked a question. What would you do if God revealed to you right now that you were going to die in one hour? They answered variously. One would have gone …another to return what he stole, another to reconcile and say goodbye to his family… When they had all answered, they turned curiously to Bernard. What would you do? Bernard replied: I’d keep playing pool. Soon we will begin Advent, the coming of Jesus Christ. This season has not only reminded us that Jesus has come to Bethlehem, but above all our anticipation of the second coming of Jesus. The appearance of Christ the King. He calls us today as well:
“Watch therefore all the time and pray that you may escape all that is to come, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Lk 21:36). Expecting to meet the Lord is not something rigid, something that would make us be killed. It does not mean living in fear. On the contrary. Whoever lives in such a way that he is ready for meeting with God lives a peaceful and joyful life. For he has that which is necessary for a quiet life – a clear conscience. A person having a pure conscience lives in harmony and in friendship with God and those around him. He who does not steal does not slander, does not lie, who knows how to share, keeps holy Sundays and holidays, accedes to the sacraments … in short, who gives to God what is God’s, to man what belongs to man and to himself, what is required for the health of body and soul, he is ready for an encounter with God. He has a lighted lamp; that is, the light of God’s grace is in his heart. Our life is full of meetings. Death appears to us from ordinary life as loneliness, as the severing of all ties, friendships, acquaintances. But the Gospel says otherwise. We read of an excellent, new encounter with the Lord in it, which has a solemn atmosphere. Therefore, a “new” meeting, because it is an encounter with Jesus, a person whom we have not yet seen with our own eyes, but with whom we through our faith have long been in contact with. Thus, a person living according to the Gospel, the man who lives with a clear conscience, should and can rejoice that in death he will not be thrown as it were, into solitary confinement, for then, he will leave all to meet Jesus, in whom he will find the fullness of peace and happiness. Then, we may enter into an encounter with Jesus, we need to have a wedding dress. Otherwise, we will be thrown out for the door, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The sign of this dress is our baptismal, the christening gown we received at our baptism. We were then cleansed of all sins, and we became children of God. Let us remember this day. It was the day of our birth when we were born for heaven.

Brother, sister! When you received this robe, the Baptist said to you the words: ” …you have become a new creature and have put on…you have become a new man, a new creature… Let this white garment be to you a sign of this worthiness. Your parents and relatives shall help thee by word and example to bring it undefiled into eternal life. “1 In life, however, we, as children, have often fallen into puddles, which is why we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation here. Don’t we also sometimes delay repentance? Therefore, let us prepare ourselves to be received into the wedding hall now. Are we ready for an hour of which we have no idea? If God had revealed the hour of our death to us, we would have remained calm, like St. John of God. Bernard? If we are ready, yes. If not, let us try to think about our approach to reconciliation with God. Let us resolve today that whenever we feel in our souls that we have offended God by grave sin, we will try to be reconciled to Him at the earliest opportunity. Jesus’ call, “Watch…!” 13:35) was directed not only to the disciples but also to us.