Dec. 10, 2017: 2nd Sunday of Advent B
Dec. 10, 2017: 2nd Sunday of Advent B
How do you typically spend your time in your car when you have some distance to drive to your destination? Do you turn on the radio or CD? This week when planning a funeral, I spoke with three of the children whose mother had died earlier in the week. They said as children, when they got in the car with their mom, the first thing they did was to pray the Rosary. The siblings went on to say that even as adults they still pray the Rosary when they get in their car. That tradition of praying the Rosary is a beautiful example of how the faith of parents can shape and make straight the path of their children. Parents spend the best years of their lives preparing the way for their children, in the sense of opening them to life. There is no other worthwhile effort than to show a person a straight path to Jesus, which is the path to life.
John the Baptist dedicated his short earthly life to showing people a straight path to Jesus. John cried out to the people in the wilderness, “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.” This ‘way’ or the path represents a person’s manner of life and conduct. The straight road stands for right living and the crooked road stands for wrong living. The path to Jesus that John pointed out involves repentance, a conscious turning away from sin and a full- hearted turning toward God. We all have to admit that figuratively speaking we may have wandered out to the wilderness where we feel disconnected from God. Perhaps we devoted so much time and energy to something so superficial that we gradually became insensitive to God’s presence. We feel the aching dissatisfaction that calls us from within to set things right.
If there is anything that needs to be realigned in our lives, be it a lack of spiritual fervor, selfishness, a unhealthy relationship, lack of integrity at the workplace, this season of Advent is the right time to set ourselves on the right path to Jesus. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a perfect way to set things right with God and ourselves. Take time to examine your conscience before heading in to see a priest. A good place to start for such review is to start with Ten Commandments. We can also help set others on the right path during this Advent season. There may be some who recently lost a loved one, and this will be the first Christmas without them. There may be someone who cannot afford to give basic Christmas gifts to their children. What a joy it is for them to receive a small act of love from caring persons. Such kindness reaffirms that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and heirs to heaven. To prepare the way of the Lord then it is to help others come to know Jesus’ love and mercy through us.
In these short couple of weeks before we celebrate the arrival of Our Lord at Christmas, let us take time to reflect on our shortcomings and ask Him to help us to overcome them. Let us reach out and help those who may long to experience God’s care and concern.
Ponder these words this week:
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
How do you typically spend your time in your car when you have some distance to drive to your destination? Do you turn on the radio or CD? This week when planning a funeral, I spoke with three of the children whose mother had died earlier in the week. They said as children, when they got in the car with their mom, the first thing they did was to pray the Rosary. The siblings went on to say that even as adults they still pray the Rosary when they get in their car. That tradition of praying the Rosary is a beautiful example of how the faith of parents can shape and make straight the path of their children. Parents spend the best years of their lives preparing the way for their children, in the sense of opening them to life. There is no other worthwhile effort than to show a person a straight path to Jesus, which is the path to life.
John the Baptist dedicated his short earthly life to showing people a straight path to Jesus. John cried out to the people in the wilderness, “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.” This ‘way’ or the path represents a person’s manner of life and conduct. The straight road stands for right living and the crooked road stands for wrong living. The path to Jesus that John pointed out involves repentance, a conscious turning away from sin and a full- hearted turning toward God. We all have to admit that figuratively speaking we may have wandered out to the wilderness where we feel disconnected from God. Perhaps we devoted so much time and energy to something so superficial that we gradually became insensitive to God’s presence. We feel the aching dissatisfaction that calls us from within to set things right.
If there is anything that needs to be realigned in our lives, be it a lack of spiritual fervor, selfishness, a unhealthy relationship, lack of integrity at the workplace, this season of Advent is the right time to set ourselves on the right path to Jesus. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a perfect way to set things right with God and ourselves. Take time to examine your conscience before heading in to see a priest. A good place to start for such review is to start with Ten Commandments. We can also help set others on the right path during this Advent season. There may be some who recently lost a loved one, and this will be the first Christmas without them. There may be someone who cannot afford to give basic Christmas gifts to their children. What a joy it is for them to receive a small act of love from caring persons. Such kindness reaffirms that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and heirs to heaven. To prepare the way of the Lord then it is to help others come to know Jesus’ love and mercy through us.
In these short couple of weeks before we celebrate the arrival of Our Lord at Christmas, let us take time to reflect on our shortcomings and ask Him to help us to overcome them. Let us reach out and help those who may long to experience God’s care and concern.
Ponder these words this week:
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
