The desert and the wasteland are mentioned in both the first reading and the Gospel reading for today's Mass. Isaiah speaks of a voice crying out in the desert, "Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!" (Is 40:3) In the Gospel, a sheep strays from the safety of the shepherd's care and the shepherd goes off to search for it (Mt 18:12ff). In Luke's parallel version of this parable, the ninety-nine sheep are left in the "wasteland" (Lk 15:4) while the shepherd searches for the lost sheep.
Advent is more a trip into the desert than "walking in a winter wonderland." Jesus goes into the desert to bring "comfort" (Is 40:1), to seek the lost, to transform the desert into a place of hope. Just as God was present for forty years with the Israelites in the desert, giving them manna from heaven to eat and miraculous water to drink, so Jesus goes into the desert. Jesus, the Rock, followed His people in the desert (1 Cor 10:4), nourishing and protecting them. He calls us to likewise comfort those in deserted places.
Advent is a time to wait in joyful hope. Possibly you know someone who is wandering in the desert rather than in a place of hope. Jesus, the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11), has gone into the desert. If Jesus goes into the desert, then as His disciples, we follow Him into the Advent desert. We go where He goes, in search of lost sheep. Jesus transforms the desert and makes it bloom (Is 35:6ff). He makes the "rough country" a "broad valley" (Is 40:4).
Are you in a desert this Advent? Receive the Lord's comfort (Is 40:1) and give it to others. "Rejoice, for the Lord is near!"
| PRAYER: | Jesus, I want to prepare Your way. Give me a great desire to straighten Your paths into the lives of all who need You. |
| PROMISE: | "It is no part of your heavenly Father's plan that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief." –Mt 18:14 |
| PRAISE: | Pope Francis established the feast of Our Lady of Loreto in 2019, writing, "This celebration will help all people�to imitate the virtues of that perfect disciple of the gospel, the Virgin Mother." |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College