2^nd Sunday of Advent (C)

1. During Advent, we prepare for the coming of the Lord. I am sure we all want to be prepared to meet the Lord when he comes in glory with salvation for his people. We want to be among those who can stand with confidence before the Son of Man. I am sure we all want to be prepared spiritually to celebrate well and worthily the coming of the Lord at Christmas.

2. Into this Advent tapestry there is woven the figure of John the Baptist, the precursor of the Lord. He it is who tells us: “Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.” John the Baptist is the voice crying in the wilderness: “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight…and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.” To this end, John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

3. Some might say that the voice of John the Baptist is indeed crying in a wilderness because many people just do not hear any kind of call from the Church or from the Word to God to prepare well for the coming of the Lord or to prepare even to celebrate Christmas as a Christian religious feast which says so much to us about God’s love for human beings in the birth of his Son Jesus. In this context, we need to be careful not to miss out on the spiritual value of Advent and on the religious impact of Christmas by failing to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

4. The mission of John the Baptist to prepare for the coming of Jesus took the shape of inviting the people to submit to a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He invited the people to deplore their sin and wrongdoing in preparation for the coming of the One who can even forgive sin, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We will prepare in many ways for Christmas over the next two weeks, but surely the most important single act in our spiritual preparation for Christmas and for the coming of the Lord must be to approach the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and hear him say: “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

5. So my message to you today is clear and simple. John the Baptist calls us to prepare the way of the Lord during this time of Advent. Catholics have always prepared for great feasts by asking pardon for their sins in the Sacrament of Penance. I invite you all to go to Confession before Christmas so that the Lord’s coming will not find us unprepared and so that we will be able to rejoice with an undivided heart when we celebrate the birth of the Lord. May Mary, the sinless Mother of the Church, who waited with patience for the birth her Son, help us prepare for the coming of the Lord.

St. James’ Renfrew

10^th December 2006