We’ve almost made it. It’s so close now. He’s so close, almost here. The first reading is from Michah.

Thus says the Lord:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;

And today’s Gospel reading, from St. Luke, has more of the Hail Mary.

Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Father Caulfield reminds us how he had told us those three short weeks ago, when Advent began, that it would fly by so quickly. He sure is right, I agree. Time has flown.

He admits that it has for him as well.

And I wonder if we can ever truly prepare as much as we should. I always think of Emily’s line in Our Town, from the third act: Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? -— every, every minute?