People, this is not a drill. There are only 25 shopping days left until Christmas. Also, maybe a little more importantly, there are only 25 days of preparation left until the most important Christian holiday of the year! (Many will argue Easter is more important, but as a Franciscan I have to go with Christmas. Topic for another time.)

At the time of writing this post and observing the vigil, the start of advent is a mere 54 hours away! That’s like… two days from now! And with Christmas being on a Tuesday this year, our fourth week of Advent is really only two days long, meaning that our time to prepare is drastically cut short.

And so I ask a very important question: are you ready?

If not, you’re going to be like me each and every year, loving the season but falling behind, surprised that Christmas is already here. Forget about Christmas shopping, what about spiritual nourishment? What a shame it is to run into the holiday without being ready.

This year, I hope that we can all make this season meaningful, that we can all put the effort in that we need. If you have any special forms of preparation, I would love to hear them! Leave a comment on the YouTube video or over on Facebook!