A voice proclaims: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low; The rugged land shall be a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. ~Isaiah 40:3-5 Jesus, prepare my heart for Your coming. Show me the…
It’s late in the calendar year. The darkness increases as we draw nearer to winter, but on this first day of Advent—the very first day of our Church year—we are called to wake up early, while it is still dark. “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw…
The days are getting shorter and darker each day now. But with the increasing darkness comes the promise of brighter days: “but for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (Mal 3:20). Sun of Justice is one of the names of Jesus. If your family does a Jesse Tree during Advent, you might remember this from the O Antiphons that are recited during Vespers in the…