This weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Advent with the Gospel speaking of John the Baptist as he’s proclaiming the coming of Christ – the one whom he is not even worthy to carry his sandals.
At Communion, we sing two songs that carry this same message in them: “A Voice Cries Out” (Michael Joncas,
Published by OCP) and “On Jordan’s Bank”. The second one is a hymn entitled “Winchester New” that is taken from a music book in Hamburg, Germany from 1690. Yes, the Catholic church still sings songs that our forefathers sang in the 1600s. Our closing song even sings of this same theme, “Ready the Way” by Bob Hurd (OCP). Hopefully by the end of Mass, we should get the message: prepare the way for the Lord! And this doesn’t just mean by decorating your Christmas tree, or getting the lights put up on the house. Prepare your heart. Prepare your soul. Go to reconciliation (see page 4 of the bulletin for our reconciliation schedule). Be reunited with our Lord. Prepare for the end of your time here on earth. It’s much more important than getting Christmas stockings put up!