Homeowners know sometimes their house may end up with holes in the walls due to deterioration.  They know they must fix them as quickly as possible before the holes become bigger and become more expensive to fix.  A hole in the wall is not only a structural problem but it is a safety issue as well.  The hole in the wall can let in cold air.  The hole in the wall can also let small animals and insects into the house.  And if the hole becomes bigger then someone can even enter the building through that hole.  The city would probably not allow big holes in a house to go untreated.  Yet spiritually many of us may have big holes in our lives.  Our houses (our lives) are vulnerable because we have allowed these holes to grow and became entrances for the enemy to use to damage our spiritual lives.  From a little hole (a venial sin), they may become considerably larger and many more as sin increases in our lives.  Our spiritual lives are left vulnerable.  There is a saying in Spanish that we try to drive the devil out of window, but we then allow the devil to enter back through the door. Many of us have doors wide open so the devil can just pass at ease anytime the devil wants.  Going back to the image of the hole, for many the holes in their spiritual life are so big, the devil can just pass comfortably in whichever direction around the person through those holes.  This is a problem.  The readings say if the person knew when the thief was coming, that person would not allow the thief to rob them.  But for many people the holes in their house are too big to try to cover and protect.  They grew bigger because of the lack of prayer and because sin after sin made them bigger.  It was like taking a sledgehammer and increasing the circumference of each hole until it got out of hand.  Advent helps to repair the damage done to our house.  Advent helps us with prayer to repair the holes.  Advent also helps us to acknowledge what sins are happening so we can assess the damage and focus on repairing by going to the sacrament of  confession.  The readings ask to stay awake, and perhaps using the image of the hole, lets put some plaster on the holes of our spiritual lives and cover our house so it can be safe and structurally sound.  Let us strengthen our house (our spiritual lives) so that the thief (the devil) can stay out and so that we can be prepared to host the Son of Man when He comes in a remodeled and upgraded house without holes.