It's good to be home with you. I've been gone for a few weeks. I spent a week in the Czech Republic, in the city of Prague, and then I went on to Phoenix.

Prague is a fabulous city and the Czech people are very friendly and open. It’s called the City of Spires because there are so many churches. In the churches are not only the relics of many saints but also the cultural and historical heritage of that part of the world. I highly recommend it. Its been 19 years since the Iron Curtain came down and it’s quite reasonable in most areas, in terms of cost.

I traveled with a friend, Paul Kellen. We were in the army together. I am the godfather of one of his children. We arrived in Prague on a direct flight from Atlanta, which was great. We took a taxi into town and that took about 30 minutes--it was $20 for a 30 minute taxi drive and that shows you that things are pretty reasonable. We lucked out from the very beginning because our taxi driver wanted to practice his English, and we wanted to learn a little something about the Czech people.

Initially, of course he said, “Well, I don't speak English, just a little but I learn”, and then ten minutes later he was using compound-complex sentences. By the way, we later found out he was 45-years-old, he was married and had twins, two 12-year-old girls. We asked him, “How are things now?” Because a little more than half his life was lived under a communist stay, and he has been free since 1989. In a very Slavic way he said, “Things are not good, not good, no, not good.” He went on to tell us why.

He said that under communism, he had a job, in which he did nothing, but he did nothing for eight hours a day, and then received his small salary. At that time, he didn’t have to worry -- his rent was very inexpensive, food was inexpensive. It wasn't very good, but it didn't cost much, and the cost of living was very reasonable. He said that now, his apartment rent is very expensive, food is very expensive, and the cost of living is very, very high. He said that he had to work 14-16 hours a day, seven days a week. Now that he is a taxi driver, he is working for tips. He said, “You know, before the bosses were communists, and we make believe we did what they said, but we didn't. Now, the bosses are the big money people. It's funny, but many of them are the same.” He wasn't happy. We didn't even push him on this. He said, “Communism had to fail, because it had to -- there is no tomorrow, there is no future with communism.” I think future is his word for hope but hope is a theological word, it's a spiritual word, and I sensed this fellow was agnostic, both religiously and politically. He didn't care. Then I asked him one other question, “Do you have hope?” he said, “I don't have hope, I am working all day, every day, what hope, what time for hope?” I waited and I said, “Do you have any hope for your girls?” He couldn't speak. His eyes filled with tears, and I thought, “Ah, got you.”

Man cannot live without hope. We just simply can't. We can survive without hope, but we can't live, really live without hope. It's the way we were made. We are created in God's image, and we were made to look forward to the future, at least during this time on earth. Of all the animals, we are the only one that looks forward to the future or looks to the future.

I often say, animals feel pain like we do, but they don't suffer, because suffering is the mental awareness that you are suffering. Suffering is the mental awareness that you are having pain, and this pain will be with you tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and that realization of your condition of the future is what we call suffering. We need something to look forward to, we need something to live for, and we hope for all sorts of things, good things; success, money, and security, a better life for our children, which used to be a lot easier to obtain than it is today.

We look forward to a better world, to world peace, for the curing of diseases. These are all good and noble things to look forward to, and to work towards in our lifetime. That's why they give the Nobel Peace Prizes to those who make progress in these areas.

Today, we begin this season of Advent. The readings during Advent are from the Jewish prophets, the Hebrew prophets. We read from Isaiah, from Jeremiah and others but mostly from Isaiah. We hear from them, and the church teaches them to us during this time of Advent, because the church wants us to hope for big things, not for little things.

The Jewish people and the Hebrew people before them, hoped for really big things. They hoped that the desert would be turned into fertile land. Have you ever been to Israel? They did it. They hoped that the blind could see, the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and over the years, to some degree, we have made progress in those areas. They hoped that there would be peace, and that still has not happened. The Jewish people and the Hebrew people hoped for unity with God, and so we continue their hopes today. However, as Christians, Advent reminds us that we have even a bigger hope, eternal life with the Son of God, whom we know personally. The King Himself sent His Son, whom walks as our brother and we walk with Him towards this goal of eternal life.

Next week, I am going to speak about eternity. It's a hard concept to get our brains around, eternity, but it's a wonderful, fantastic thing to think about. I don't think we think about eternity enough. We think about what's in front of us and we need to spend more time thinking about what will never end. We hope for eternal life not with some distant God, but with a manual God with us, that's what the word means, “Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

Advent is a season of hope. We are told to be watchful, but not in a threatening way, not for an increase in our national threat advisory, but to be watchful for the coming of Jesus Christ in glory. You'll note in the structure of Advent, there are really two parts to it. From now until the 16th of December, the church focuses us on the Second coming of Christ, the Judgment, the End Time. From the 17th until Christmas Day, the focus is on Christmas.

Hope, a supernatural virtue by which we trust that God will give us eternal life, and all that we need to obtain it. He is merciful and faithful to His promise. How do we live as His people of hope? By trusting God, by uniting ourselves to His Son in word, in sacrament, and as the prophet Micah told us, ‘By doing right, and to love goodness and to walk humbly with our God.”

Are you a person of hope? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Are you hopeful or doubtful? Are you sanguine or cynical? Are you trusting or suspicious? Do you look forward to the future, or do you dread it? Hopeful people are happy people. Before mass, I said to one of our parishioners, who always has a wonderful smile on her face, I said, “You are always smiling. Either you are a saint, or you have no idea what's going on.” She said, “No, I love my husband.” Good point.

People who have hope live life to the fullest. They don't worry a whole lot. They are not afraid of life or death, and they die very bravely. I have been really blessed to be with many people as they die, and I have been so inspired by them, and people of hope, and of faith, and of love, die brave.

Let me ask you tonight a personal question. You can take this personally. Are you a person of hope? Are you so bogged down in the problems of this life that you have lost sight of your final goal? Advent is a time to reflect on that question. It's the most important question you can ask to reflect on the reality of eternal life.

I would like to conclude with what I think is a perfect Advent prayer and you are familiar with this prayer. During Mass, we all say the “Our Father”, and then priest says this short prayer and then we finish up with “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.”