Dear friend,<\/p>\n
Advent is a time to remember and live the importance of preparing for our eternal encounter with God. The Scriptures offer advice on this form of preparing. No matter the day or hour, we know we will die. Our faith reveals some very simple realities: God exists, God created us equal in His image and likeness, God invites us to live according the moral life, and we will provide an account of this at death. All that being said, the Scriptures are filled with hope for those who prepare for that moment by developing a relationship with God. \u201cThere is no greater love than laying down one\u2019s life for a friend,\u201d says Jesus.\u00a0 God is love and love is selfless sacrifice. We love, then, by doing what is good for the other. The challenge is to take each of these Biblical notions and apply them to each moment of life. If we love God, we do what is good for our relationship with Him. We talk to Him, we pray to Him, we work to change our behavior to coincide with His truth.<\/p>\n
With the 2nd<\/sup> Sunday of Advent, the Church reads about St. John the Baptist. John is seen as the bridge from the Old to the New Testaments. The Old Testament records the promises of God to visit His people, to save all from sin and death. The prophets of the Old Testament paved the way for the Messiah to enter the world. Prior to pointing out Jesus, John\u2019s ministry challenged people to repentance and forgiveness. People came to John to listen, to be baptized, and to experience forgiveness. John understood himself to be \u201cthe voice\u201d that Isaiah the Prophet predicted would point out the Christ or Messiah. The day that Jesus approached John for baptism, John resisted out of humility, but ultimately baptized Jesus and saw the Spirit descend. The next day John pointed to Jesus and said, \u201cbehold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.\u201d These same words said at Mass, when the Eucharistic is presented to the people, remind us that God is present. One of my favorite passages about John the Baptist comes later when John is imprisoned. While jailed John reflects on his life.\u00a0 He sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him, \u201care you the one to come, or should we look for another?\u201d In one way or another, we all think and pray that we have completed the life task the Lord put before us. The fear of failure that tempts us all got to John as he sat alone in prison. Jesus told the disciples of John to go back and tell him that the \u201cblind walk, the lame see, and blessed is the one that takes no offense at me.\u201d Certainly these words comforted John prior to his death. As we pray with John the Baptist this week, may we all seek to do our best in the name of the Lord, while always trusting that the Lord can bring good out of any mistake or failure in life. May the Lord console our hearts to join John in always pointing to the truth of the Lamb of God, Jesus the Christ.<\/p>\n God bless,<\/p>\n Father David<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"