Sunday 4 December
2nd Sunday of Advent Gospel - Matthew 3:1-12 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’” John the Baptist feels the presence of God nearby. And that is why he said, “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.” First, what we need is to feel the presence of God nearby us. Then we think about preparing the way of the Lord. Secondly, we see the lifestyle of John the Baptist who calls for the preparation of the way for the Lord. “This man, John wore a garment made of camel-hair with a leather belt round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” The preparation for the Lord begins in ourselves, when we leave the superficial and when we underline the essentials. We don’t run to conform ourselves to the standards of the world around us but we become what attracts the world to repent. And thirdly, humility makes the final step in the preparation. “but the one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” With humility we can become the instruments of the Holy Spirit. We purify ourselves the Holy Spirit. Let’s reflect: Advent is the time to feel the nearness of the Lord and to prepare His way with our lifestyle and with our humility.
Our relationships
We can build our relationships based on our rights or duties. But it’s better to build it over our duties than our rights. Unfortunately often our rights try to dictate the conditions of our relationship. And our relationships become disparity relationships where we may feel superiority. Becomes more a practical adjustment rather than a relationship. Whereas if we build a relationship based upon our duties to relate, to communicate, to share, something totally different comes out. A relationship of parity and equality. Don Giorgio
Saturday 3 December
Saint Francis Xavier, Priest on Saturday of the 1st week of Advent Gospel - Matthew 9:35-10:1,5,6-8 “Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel… You received without charge, give without charge’”. Jesus came to us and made us His disciples without charge. He took us with our weakness and defects. He shared His authority with us, to go to the lost sheep. The condition of someone around us as lost, is where our mission starts. To look around to understand who is lost, who is crying, who is desperate, who is depressed, is the first step. Often, we don’t see the lost. We see those who come to the Church and are active in different realities of the Church. But be sure, our mission begins where one around us, feels lost. After understanding that this person feels lost or is lost, we must give him or her back the sense of life, his or her dignity, the meaning of life. And this giving back becomes a giving back without charge when this giving is sharing, when this giving is without pretension, as a service. Let’s reflect: Advent is the time to make all our giving a sharing in serving the other.