Second Week of Advent: Love
Light the Advent Candle of Faith
The second candle, also purple, represents faith. It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.
First Movement
Light the Advent candle, pause and quiet yourself to remember that God is, even in this very moment, present to you.
Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God
Optional Centering Song
Play it for the amount of time that you determine for your personal prayer experience.
Second Movement
Contemplate the Mystery of God’s love at work in the world.
Read Sunday’s Gospel a few times slowly, then consider one or more of the reflective questions that follow.
A Reading from Mt 3:1-12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
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.
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.
His winnowing fan is in his hand.
He will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Founder’s Voice
“Walk along God’s path.”
(Med 75.3)
Third Movement
How is the Holy Spirit calling you into a deeper awareness of the presence of God?
Closing Prayer
Loving and eternal God, I place my faith in your accompaniment of me during this sacred season of Advent as I journey along my spiritual path in preparation for the celebration of the Incarnation of your son, Jesus, Emmanuel, God is with us. Amen!
Reflection for Week Two
Mr. Anthony Shilen, Saint Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, Buffalo, NY
Jesus gave us one commandment; love one another as I have loved you. Easier said than done, particularly now, as the human race seems to be devolving into tribalism. If we are indeed preparing for the coming of Christ this Advent season, these two qualities should be a top priority for us. These qualities are required to break down our tribal walls, help us all come together in love, and illuminate our shared interconnectedness with our Divine Creator.
To develop love and compassion and share them with others, we must first get our own house in order, so to speak. If we genuinely believe that God is love, we should strive to cultivate and nurture love and compassion to prepare our hearts to receive the Divine. How, then, do we develop true love? How do we cultivate compassion? Shouldn’t there be a playbook for this?
Truth be told, many world religions have given us steps to being more loving and compassionate people. We just need to pay more attention. I believe that John the Baptist is giving us the first step in developing a life lived with love and compassion as he preached in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight his paths.”
Why repent? What we did is in the past; what does it matter? If we want to be able to forgive others and be more loving towards them as Jesus commanded us, then we must begin with ourselves. Repentance is essential to healing our relationship with ourselves. It has been my experience that if I cannot forgive, lack love for, or lack compassion for another, it usually means that I lack love for myself, have not forgiven myself, or lack compassion for myself. It almost always has nothing to do with the other person. Going through a practice of repentance requires self-forgiveness and self-love. As a bonus, self-compassion is often a product of healthy repentance.
What of those Pharisees who John the Baptist harshly called a brood of vipers? Could they have been suffering from some or many forms of attachment? Don’t we all have some Pharisee in us? He tells them to produce good fruit as evidence of their repentance. Well, shoot, isn’t that the message for us as well? We will never produce good fruit or cultivate love and understanding if we continue to harbor ill will toward those who have somehow wronged us or others. Perhaps St. John was telling us that forgiveness and love are necessary for healing relationships to make straight the path of Jesus.
This brings us full circle. We must develop and nurture a sense of interiority to see the Divinity within us to have love and compassion for others. Repentance is a must-have tool to see this. It requires us to lose our ego and surrender to God. This will allow us to begin to heal from all our attachments (greed, hate, lust, ego, power, etc…) and forgive ourselves. Forgiving ourselves without judgment and focusing on our spiritual growth is an act of self-love. Advent reminds us to do just that, to stay spiritually awake. We should often go within ourselves, to that place of inner quiet where we experience our connection with our Creator.
As Lasallians, we often recite, “Live Jesus in our hearts…forever”. If we do not have love, His true essence, for ourselves, how will we feel his presence in us and see Him in others? When you love yourself, love will naturally permeate to those around you, allowing you to produce good fruit. We can’t change the past, but we can certainly change the future. Imagine everyone from every nation standing in unity and smiling with greater compassion, understanding, acceptance, and love for one another. It doesn’t have to be a dream, but it does have to start from within. Stay spiritually awake!
The Divine in me honors the Divine in you, Namaste.
Optional Contemporary Reflections
LOVE
The word “love” is one of the sloppiest words in our language, as it primarily refers to a feeling that happens to a person. In the New Testament, love or Agape refers to a way of treating people that was defined by Jesus himself: seeking the well-being of others regardless of their response.