First Sunday of Advent (Nov. 30-Dec. 1): "Prepare the way for God's Justice"!
Dear Parishioners:
Today is the first day of the new liturgical year for the Church. We are entering Advent, a time of preparation for Christmas. We will begin preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of Christ, and in anticipation of his return.
Hope, light, joy, and "holy waiting" are all terms that illustrate the spiritual movement of these four weeks. But there is another word that underlies them and is highlighted in our readings today: justice.
Justice might not be the first word that comes to mind as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the nativity of baby Jesus. So often when we think of justice, it is in the legal sense. We think of right and wrong or fairness.
God's sense of justice is deeper than that, however. It is about the proper state of things in the world, and about the order God wants in his creation. It is about bringing forth God's order in the world. God's way is justice, and it is authentic.
Every Advent is a time to prepare for our own journey to Bethlehem, and to await the return of the Son of Man. It is a time to go deeper within our lives and hearts to make that major shift of conversion. Come let us prepare the way for God's justice in our lives and in our world.
Your brother in Christ
Father Joseph
