This weekend, as we enter into the Second Sunday of Advent, we make a journey into the desert. It is there that we encounter John the Baptist. He is there “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Furthermore, he is that voice crying out “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.” I encourage each of you to heed the Baptist’s call. Prepare well for the coming of Christ. The second candle of the Advent Wreath is lit, and we are coming closer to the great celebration of His birth. Take the time now to slow down and think of the importance of His birth in your lives. In the Church, we have two great feasts that incapsulate the entirety of the message and mission of Christ. They are Easter and Christmas. Both of these significant feasts have a period of preparation attached to them. For Easter, we have forty days to prepare in a penitential manner ~ Lent. For Christmas, we have a period of four weeks to prepare with anticipation ~ Advent. So here we are, in the Advent Season to do just that; namely, with joyful anticipation let us prepare and wait for the birth of the Christ. Last week, I suggested a few spiritual exercises you can do in this season to prepare. I feel they are worth repeating: attend Mass (daily and weekend), make a good confession, pray a holy hour in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel, pray the Rosary with your family, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with the parish family (daily at 3:00 p.m. in the Chapel), read the Bible, or partake in a fast. In the words of St. John the Baptist: “prepare the way of the Lord.”
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Wayne