Second Sunday of Advent

Readings: Isaiah   11:1-10, Romans 15:4-9, Mathew 3:1-12

Today the Church chooses John the Baptist as the personification of the Advent theme as he preaches repentance, the transformation of the heart and reform of our lives and invites us to reflect on his prophecy as a preparation for the celebration of the birth of the Savior. Christmas is a worldwide feast that many people prepare for in different ways. For many it is a time for family reunions, for others, it is a time of increased business when people travel more and shop more. We too join the world to prepare to celebrate Christmas as a social event. But the best preparation for the event is the spiritual preparation. We prepare ourselves to celebrate the event when God assumed our nature to take our sins away and to enable us to share in his divine nature. There is no better preparation than that of conversion, of repentance.

The core message of this second Sunday of Advent, therefore, is that we must rid ourselves of everything that will present a stumbling block to being with Christ when he comes. Hence, we are encouraged to retrace our steps and make amend for the wrongs we have done. In this season we must expressly take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the purification of our souls.

Let us, therefore, ask God this season of Advent to open our hearts in welcome, and so remove everything that will hinder us from receiving our Lord with joy, so that we may share in his wisdom and thus become one with him when he finally comes in his glory.

     Fr. Terry