SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (C)
5th December 2021

Dear Parishioner

The Gospel teaches us that, "the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Luke 3:2-3). When analysing the word of God we find a three stage development needed for transforming anyone from lukewarmness to spiritual fervour. The stages are (a) John went into the wilderness, (b) the word of God came to him, and (c) John went about proclaiming in all the regions of Jordan. The understanding of these stages will help us to live our faith life with joy.

Stage 1- Let us experience wilderness in our life. The scripture portrays wilderness as a place of God experience. When we take time off from our busy schedules to be with God at a place of worship, spent time in prayer, read and listen to His word, then we encounter God in the emptiness, the wilderness of our own life situations. Let us take the first step to reach out to God, to look for God.

Stage 2 - The word of God comes to us. Once we reach out to God, He will fill our hearts with happiness and joy. James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you". At this stage God takes the initiative to come to us, to fill us, to renew us, to transform us and to remould us in His own image. When this happens we would like to cling on to this God experience but listen to what Jesus tells Mary Magdalena, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God'." Let every encounter with God help us to carry out our duties with in our families, Church and our society at large.

Stage 3 - We are ready to proclaim our faith. An encounter of the goodness of God creates within us the desire to share our experience with others. People look at us and see the joy and peace and serenity that radiates from us and they would like to be like us. They would like to be our friends. And then we can in turn help them by showing them the pathway to the desert, the place where they, in their turn, will encounter God personally. The experience of God is like the experience of love. You can tell people about it but they will not understand what you are talking about until they themselves experience it. In order for this to happen, we must resolve, in this season of advent, to take the first step, to make room for God, make time for church, for prayer, for hearing the word of God.

Fr Jijo George

Notices:
Please remember to pray for:

Daily for the sick clergy of our Diocese

The sick and housebound

Those who have recently died

Years Mind:
Sunday: Kate Redfern
Monday: Fr Brian Drea
Tuesday: Fr Michael Healy
Wednesday: Fr Bernard Pownall
Thursday: Fr John Lane, Canon Anthony McKentey
Sunday: Fr Geoffrey Pye, Fr Eamonn Magrath