2nd Sunday of Advent (Cycle B, Year II)

Community Word: We celebrate God’s presence in us at all times.

Theme: God’s presence keeps us yielded to the power of the Holy Spirit.

Promise: “I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.” (Mk 1:2)

Reflection:
The call to “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths” (Mk 1:3) spans centuries, and is as effective today as it was at the time of Christ. It is a fitting reminder to the faithful that to receive God’s forgiveness, we should acknowledge our sinfulness, make straight our morally crooked ways, and smooth the rough edges of our character. We need God through the power of the Holy Spirit that we may be able to repent and transform our lives.

Advent is the most opportune time to mend our ways and commit to transforming our lives. The Second Reading tells us God waits patiently for us for He is”patient, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” (2Pt 3:9). What He wants is for all human beings to repent and be transformed that we may gain the “promised new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells,” (2Pt 3:13). For our part as believers, we should hasten the coming of the day of the Lord with pure and blameless hearts that God’s presence may continue to dwell in our hearts. Weak as we are, we need the Holy Spirit to strengthen and convict us of our wayward ways. Our theme for the week guides us in this reflection: God’s presence keeps us yielded to the power of the Holy Spirit.Let us then be prepared to welcome Jesus, not only on Christmas, but whenever and whatever way He may come knocking at the door of our lives.

Desiring to know God is not enough. We must develop constant awareness of God’s real presence in our life. To do so, we need to repent and come to transformation of the heart and mind by turning away from our sinfulness and invoking God’s grace and mercy, that we may produce good fruit, as witnessed through our thoughts, words and deeds.

With repentance comes genuine conversion of heart, which assures us that God will always be present to us, through us, and in us, as we reflect Him in everything we do and say by our own witnessing. Let us be consistently upright and righteous in our attitudes and behavior, repentant of our shortcomings and weaknesses, eliminating arrogance and pride from our lives and instead, cultivating humility, like John the Baptist who acknowledged his limitations and proclaimed Christ as mightier than himself.

God is with us and among us every time celebrate the Eucharist and when we meet for community worship, for He comes to us every time we gather in His name. The Lord comes to us when we listen to the word as proclaimed in the readings, when we do our share of work in the mission areas of spreading the Good News, addressing poverty, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, and comforting the sick and the imprisoned. May Christ’s presence in our lives, be our source of strength, joy, and wisdom, as we surrender our lives to Him and give Him our full trust. And Like John the Baptist, we become the precursor to announce the second coming of Jesus as He says to us: “I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way,” (Mk 1:2).

Prayer
Lord Jesus, at this time of the year, we are often carried away by the superficial observances of the season, overlooking the spiritual message that Your birth is meant to convey. Help us make Advent a time for repentance, transformation, reconciliation and receiving the sacraments, a fitting time to make a way for Your coming into our lives. Grant us the grace to give to You the gift You long for, the gift of our commitment to draw You closer to us, and to follow and serve You with gladness and consistency. Amen.

Reflection Guides
1.What obstacles keep you from living a transformed life?

2.What must you do to prepare the way of the Lord?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
December 10, 2017 (Sun) -Is 40:1-5, 9-11/Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14/ 2Pt 3:8-14/ Mk 1:1-8
December 11, 2017(Mon) – Is 35:1-10/Ps 85:9-14/Lk 5:17-26
December 12, 2017 (Tues)- Zec 2:14-17/Jdt 13:18-19/Lk 1:26-38
December 13, 2017(Wed) -Is 40:25-31/Ps 103:1-4, 8, 10/Mt 11:28-30
December 14, 2017 (Thur) – Is 41:13-20/Ps 145:9, 10, 11, 12, 13/Mt 11:11-15
December 15, 2017 (Fri) – Is 48:17-19/Ps 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 6/Mt 11:16-19
December 16, 2017(Sat) – Sir 48:1-4, 9-11/Ps 80:2, 3, 15, 16, 18, 19/Mt 17:9, 10-13
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”