2nd Sunday of Advent (Fr. Francis)

A voice was heard. “A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Mt 3:3). It was the voice of an austere man — John the Baptist. He lived a life of radical simplicity, having separated himself from the luxuries of the world. He was humble in appearance and did not think highly of himself, yet he was courageous and persuasive in his preaching. Everything about him indicated that he was a man to be trusted, a man whose message needed to be heard. Simply speaking, the multitudes recognized John as a man of God, a true messenger of the Most High.

So, we hear in the Gospel that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to [John the Baptist] and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins” (Mt 3:5–6). What an amazing sight it must have been to see a continuous stream of people making their way down to the river with their hearts filled with a burning desire to turn away from all sin and to start anew on the path of righteousness. How encouraged the onlookers must have been as one person after another emerged from the waters of the river, with the resolve to live according to the law of the Lord.

Not only were they baptized in droves, but the Baptist also promised them something great. He was preparing the multitudes for the coming of the Savior by leading them to repentance and by stirring up in their hearts a sense of expectation for something mightier, more awesome, and more wonderful than they had ever experienced. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11). What wonder must have filled the minds of the crowds as they began to contemplate what it might mean to be baptized “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11). Having already experienced the transformative power of John’s baptism, the promise of an even more potent encounter with the living God must have set their hearts ablaze with fervor. We too have been promised that the Lord will come soon and that He will come in glory. For those prepared for His coming, it will be a time of joy because He will then take us to Himself to live forever in the Kingdom of God.

The sense of anticipation that filled the hearts of those baptized by John and the eagerness with which we began our preparation for the coming of the Lord must be coupled with perseverance lest our zeal for the Lord’s coming fade away. There are many things that can distract us from the Lord and from preparing ourselves for His coming: all of the worries and anxieties of our daily lives. These worries and anxieties always seem to multiply around the holidays as well. Knowing how easily we become sidetracked, Holy Mother Church places before us the prayers and readings of this Second Sunday of Advent, encouraging us to keep our eyes on the Lord. In the Collect of today’s Mass we begged God to keep us focused on the path that leads to Jesus Christ. We prayed, “may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in haste to meet your Son, but may our learning of heavenly wisdom gain us admittance to his company” (Collect, Second Sunday of Advent). In a similar vein, St. Paul urged the Romans, and he urges us today, “may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 15:5-6).

St. Josemaría Escrivá said, “to begin is easy; to persevere is sanctity” (St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 983). Just think of some things that we often start with great zeal: regimens of exercise, diets, and projects to repair things in our homes that are in need of attention. Yet, we all know how difficult it is to remain steadfast in the tasks of our daily lives. Too often we abandon tasks, projects, promises, and resolutions. We abandon them because of a lack of strength. Our perseverance in faith and our preparation for the Lord’s coming, of course, is far more important than any of our other worldly tasks. Though the consequences of growing weak in our resolve to go on a daily run may not be so serious, there are eternal consequences of growing lax in our “resolve to run for to meet Christ” (Collect, First Sunday of Advent).

John the Baptist warns the Pharisees and Sadducees of the cost of halfhearted repentance and lack of perseverance. He says, “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt 3:10). He continues, “the one who is coming after me . . . [will] gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Mt 3:11–12). None of us desires to be the bad tree or chaff that is thrown into the fire. Thus, at John’s urging we too must “produce good fruit as evidence of [our] repentance” (Mt 3:8).

In order to produce good fruit, witnessing to how we have been transfigured by the presence of Christ in our lives, we must persevere in faith and in our preparation for the Lord’s coming. The Catechism gives us some basic advice about how to persevere. We read, “to live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be “working through charity,” abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 162). We certainly cannot persevere on our own. As St. Augustine teaches, “The perseverance by which we persevere in Christ even to the end is the gift of God” (Augustine, On the Predestination of the Saints, 1). That is why we must beg the Lord for it in prayer.

With perseverance we will not only come to the joy of the celebration of the Lord’s Nativity in a few weeks, but we will also enter into the eternal joy of the Lord’s Presence when he comes again and takes us to Himself. So, we pray with the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, “Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you.” Amen.

Fr. A. Francis HGN