"A Time To Listen" Dec 2, 2022

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT: A TIME TO LISTEN

The images of Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Mary figure so prominently in the Scriptures we read and hear during these few, fast weeks. We need to let the Word sink deeply into our minds, hearts, and souls. The hymns we have always sung and the Mass prayers we pray all fix our attention in faith upon the One who has come, is coming, and is yet to come, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is all about Him, everything we are and everything we do as Catholics. 

This year, permit me as your Pastor to offer some thoughts each week of Advent for your reflection, meditation, and prayer, drawn from the Church’s rich spiritual treasury.

“Christ, the light of all lights, follows John, the lamp that goes before him. The Word of God follows the voice in the wilderness; the bridegroom follows the bridegroom’s friend, who prepares a worthy people for the Lord … (St. Gregory Nazianzen).”

“It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open the doors of hope (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI).”

“Keep God’s Word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life.  Feed on goodness and your soul will delight in its richness, remember to eat your Bread or your heart will wither away.  Fill your soul with richness and strength (St. Bernard).”

“John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning.  John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives forever (St. Augustine).”

“The prophecy makes clear that it is to be filled, not in Jerusalem but in the wilderness … the prophecy meant that God was to come to a deserted place, inaccessible from the beginning … the voice commands that a way be prepared for the Word of God … so that God may find a highway when he comes … to bring all mankind the knowledge of God’s saving power (St. Eusebius of Caesarea).”

A Blessed Advent Journey!

Fr. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor
Divine Mercy Parish and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School