Our first reading for this first Sunday of Advent gives us the master image of God as the potter and we, his creatures, as clay. St. Irenaeus said that God's provident direction of our lives is easy as long as the clay of our hearts remains supple and moist. Trouble comes only when we allow the clay to harden.

Advent, like Lent, is a penitential season. To enter into it is to prepare for the coming of the Savior and our need for him.