by Domingo Caratachea
This article was translated from the original Spanish version. Leer en Español.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Preaching of St. John the Baptist (via Wikimedia Commons)
In the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent, we notice three concrete invitations for the way we live: to preach, to repent, and to announce the good news.
The first invitation is to preach. John the Baptist preached through the humble way he lived and through the example he set for the many who followed him. We would say that he acted with great humility, since many followed him, confessing their sins and being baptized. In his time, John preached in the desert of Judea. Today, we should ask ourselves: Where is the “desert” in which God is present to us in the realities of this moment? Are we preaching in this “desert” through the way we live and the example we set? Or, maybe there are many “deserts.”
Repentance. In this second invitation, we reflect on how God, through John, has a clear plan: inviting us to repent and to prepare to encounter Jesus when he arrives. What is God’s plan for us today? What are God’s desires for me? Based on our experiences, let us focus our gaze and our hearts on the hope that Jesus brings. Like John, Jesus comes to teach us humility. But unlike John, Jesus remains with us and lives in our hearts when we turn to him for forgiveness. Once we allow him to enter our hearts, not only does he want to remain with us, but he also wants to give us his Holy Spirit.
Let us announce that Jesus has arrived. Advent is a time of preparation, so that when Jesus comes and approaches us, we can open our hearts to him and offer him a place. The way we live and the changes we make during this time of preparation are a concrete sign of how God is preparing us for Jesus to come into our lives. Let us prepare with humble hearts, and let us ask God for the grace not only to open our eyes and ears to hear and see Jesus, but also our lips to announce the good news that he is present to us.
This post was originally written and published in Spanish.
Domingo Caratachea lives in Richmond, Virginia, and is a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He coordinates the “Posadas Ignacianas” for the parish, and together with his wife, Marta, and two others, he coordinates a prayer group. He also leads an Ignatian group which gathers to deepen faith through Ignatian spirituality. Currently, he is in the process of discernment to become a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Richmond.