Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. - Luke 3:4

In the Gospel today, the word of God came to John. He called people to repent and baptized them in the Jordan River. The baptism of John is seen as a purification rite to prepare for the coming of Jesus. On this Second Sunday of Advent, his words resound to call us to prepare the way of Jesus, the Messiah and the Lord.

When I was younger all I thought during this time of year was giving presents and receiving. But now things have changed, I've thought of giving Christ a present too! It's me preparing spiritually with repentance and prayer so I could be my best self when the King arrives!

As we hustle in buying gifts and in preparing for a grand banquet for Christmas, let us take time in cleansing ourselves for the coming of the Lord. We are all called to have repentance and reconciliation with God. Let us humble down and make ourselves worthy of the salvation the Messiah has brought to us.

-Rona De Castro

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUNDAY REFLECTION (Jn 6:60-69)

        The gospel for today highlights the challenging nature of Jesus' teachings, and the importance of faith in truly understanding and accepting them.       Many of Jesus' own disciples found his words about the necessity of his body and blood for eternal life to be "hard" or difficult to accept. This shows that we humans tend to struggle with concepts that go beyond our natural understanding while Jesus’ teachings often had a deeper spiritual meaning that only Jesus or God knows. This also shows that faith is necessary in order to fully accept Jesus’ teachings, and that it is not enough to simply hear the words - we must also be willing to put our faith in them.      Ultimately, this gospel reminds us that following Jesus requires willingness and faith to understand the challenging truths of his teachings, and to rely on God's Spirit to guide our understanding. It's a call to a deeper level of commitment, beyond the surface level of discipleship. - Adrian
Read more

SUNDAY REFLECTION (Mk 7:18, 14-15, 21-23)

   The Gospel passage addresses how the Pharisees and scribes were upset because Jesus’ followers didn’t follow the tradition of washing their hands before eating. They were more concerned about it because the Pharisees believed this washing was necessary to stay “pure” and “clean”. However, Jesus tells them that they are focusing too much on these man-made rules; they are misguided by it, but Jesus explains that it is not what we do outside but rather what really matters is what is inside our hearts; this includes our thoughts, intentions, and actions that come from within and what really makes a person unclean and impure isn’t how they don’t wash before eating but the bad thoughts and actions that come within their hearts.         In essence, Jesus is teaching us to prioritize our inner transformation over external conformity. Reminding us that purity comes from having a good heart. As 1 Samuel 16:7 says, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lor
Read more

Us and Our God Against the World

Just like when we trust God, we know that He'll always be with us through our hardships. Once we realize that it is not us against the world; rather, it's us and our God against the world, we suddenly realize that we don't have to go through this life alone. We should be accepting of others around us because we were made in God's image. We may overcome previously insurmountable obstacles if we have complete faith that someone will be there for us in our hour of need. - Charlz Racel Dela Cruz
Read more