“Advent is a moment of grace to take off our masks — every one of us has them — and line up with those who are humble, to be liberated from the presumption of the belief of being self-sufficient, to go to confess our sins, the hidden ones, and to welcome God’s pardon, to ask forgiveness from those whom we have offended.

“This is how to begin a new life. There is only one way, the way of humility — to be purified from the sense of superiority, from formalism and hypocrisy, to see ourselves, along with our brothers and sisters, as sinners, and to see Jesus as the Savior who comes for us, not for the others, for us, just as we are, with our poverty, misery and failings, above all with our need to be raised up, forgiven and saved.” (Pope Francis)

The call of Advent is to prepare the way for the Lord to come to us in this present moment. The words of Pope Francis helps us to do this. What is preventing us from being more open and vulnerable to the grace of God? What sin are we holding on to? What needs to be done to make room for Jesus in the very center of our lives? We can prepare a barn or we can give him the guest room. It is our choice. We can long for his coming and be excited when he comes. Or we can be caught off guard  and unprepared when he comes. Come, Lord Jesus, can be a prayer of the heart or prayer of the lips. Our hearts can be filled with many things or made emptied to receive the most important gift, Jesus.

 Third Sunday of Advent Gospel A

When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 

· Why is John questioning whether Jesus is the Messiah or not? John’s understanding of what the Messiah would do was different than what Jesus was doing. He was expecting a fire and brimstone Messiah.

· John knows that his time is coming to an end and he wanted to be reassured that his life was not for naught. Ever questioned whether your life had meaning, given the circumstances?

Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” 

· Jesus reassures John that his ministry is actually fulfilling the prophecies concerning the Messiah, especially those of Isaiah. (Isaiah 26:19; 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1).

· Jesus is asking John to trust in the Father’s plan for him rather than in John’s own expectations.

· Jesus wasn’t rebuking John for his questions but urging him to stand firm in his own conviction that he did the right thing.

· How hard is that for us to trust in the Father’s plan when it is different than what we want?

As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you. Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” 

· Jesus now affirms John’s ministry and identifies that he was truly a prophet of God. To do this Jesus cites the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the messenger who would prepare the way of the Messiah.

· What is Jesus saying about John and himself? John was the prophesied forerunner pointing the Messiah out and Jesus was the Messiah whom John pointed to.

· What do we apply from this passage in our own lives?

 This is now faith  that gives birth to new life. It is placed at the end of a process of which, in the tenth chapter of the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul traces, almost visually, the various phases, drawing them on the map of the human body. Everything begins, he says, from the ears, from hearing the proclamation of the Gospel: “Faith comes from listening”.. From the ears, the movement passes to the heart, where the fundamental decision is made“ with the heart one believes”. From the heart, the movement goes back to the mouth: “with the mouth one makes the profession of faith”:.

 I will present Mary in Advent  part 2 on Zoom on December 6 and part 3 on December 15. Here is the information to participate. Please invite others to participate. Thanks.

 Prayer for lighting 2nd week of Advent wreath candle 

“Escape from your everyday business for a short while, hide for a moment from your restless thoughts. Break off from your cares and troubles and be less concerned about your tasks and labors. Make a little time for God and rest a while in him. Enter into your mind’s inner chamber. Shut out everything but God and whatever helps you to seek him; and when you have shut the door, look for him. Speak now to God and say with your whole heart: I seek your face; your face, Lord, I desire. Teach me to seek you, and when I seek you show yourself to me, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, nor can I find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you.” (St. Anselm)

 This should be our attitude and prayer during this Advent season. Seek the face of the Lord who comes to us a new way, so that we can be with him in a new way. In the midst of the business of Bethlehem, even though there was no room in the hearts of many, he came in the stillness of time to those who awaited him and sought him. Do not let the business of our lives be the reason he does not come to us. Take time to seek him. Like St Anselm said: “Let me seek you in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you.”

"To wait with openness and trust is an enormously radical attitude toward life. It is choosing to hope that something is happening for us that is far beyond our own imaginings. It is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life. It is living with the conviction that God molds us in love, holds us in tenderness, and moves us away from the sources of our fear.