Advent is a time of preparation, a time\nwhen we prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord of lords and King of kings into\nour midst. Christ has already come once in lowliness and humility. We now await\nhis second coming in glory and dreadful majesty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The readings from the Second Sunday in\nAdvent serve as a kind litmus test, which can inform us of how ready we are to\nwelcome Christ again. In the Gospel we hear the startling words of John the\nBaptist: \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand\u201d (Mt 3:2). He then\ngoes on to inform the people gathered around him that when the Christ comes, he\nwill baptize with the Holy Spirit. (cf. Mt 3:11). Here I would like to make the\nconnection with the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaiah foretells the coming Messiah, upon\nwhom \u201cthe Spirit of the Lord rests.\u201d (Is 11:2). It is the Spirit of the Lord\nwho bestows the Seven Gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude,\nknowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. When the Messiah comes, who bears these\ngifts of the Spirit, he will also baptize with the same Spirit and impart these\ngifts on those who follow him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gifts of the Spirit are directed\ntowards righteousness, which Isaiah says will be the sign of the Messiah (Is\n11:4). Some translations render righteousness as integrity, which is a more\nfamiliar concept in our times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our times it can be very difficult to\nact with integrity, to keep your word, to speak the truth, to turn away from\nevil, to live with virtue. The spirit of the world is constantly at work to try\nto lead us away from the path of integrity and truth. Moreover, we would be\nfoolish to think that we can live with true integrity on our own merit. We need\nthe grace of God \u2013 the gifts of the Holy Spirit \u2013 to help us on our journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this time of Advent, the Church\u2019s liturgies invite us to pause and assess our current state. Am I prepared to meet Christ when he comes again? Am I prepared to meet my Maker should I be called to judgment before he returns? Being prepared requires constant conversion \u2013 constant \u201cturning toward\u201d the Lord, who alone gifts us the divine assistance we need to be ready for his coming. In this time before the joyous feast of Christmas, let us heed the imperative of John the Baptist: Repent! Prepare a way for the Lord. Turn to him with all your strength and strive to live a life of integrity and righteousness, giving thanks for the great gifts he has given to us through his Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kevin Ponte<\/strong> \u2013 St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. Magdeleine.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Second Sunday of Advent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[96,142],"class_list":["post-2162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider","tag-advent","tag-kevin_ponte"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n