Second Sunday of Advent : Prepare the way; metanoia

First Reading Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Isaiah tells the people to prepare a way for the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 85:9-14
The Lord's salvation is near.

Second Reading  2 Peter 3:8-14
Peter teaches that we must always be holy because the return of the Lord cannot be predicted.

Gospel Reading
Mark 1:1-8

 

The message of Advent can never change or be changed: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John preaches repentance, metanoia, change, renewal, and return to God. “Change yourselves from deep within”, is the focus of his message. Our preparation is an essentially an opening of our inner being to God’s comforting and healing presence so that the Holy Spirit can transform and make a new creation of us. Repentance begins with recognizing our need for change and renewal, with dissatisfaction with who and what we are, and with the progress we have made in following Christ. This recognition of our unsatisfactory spiritual condition is basic to desire, and desire is what Advent preparation is all about.