Aside from the personal touch that comes with a human being knocking on your door, the messenger is also one of the most reliable means of getting to a client or business partner since he defies traffic, delivers and collects on time, and achieves instant feedback from customers. In the business world, a messenger delivers packages or letters. But in the Bible, a messenger does more than deliver. St. John the Baptist, in this Advent Gospel, states that his mission is to prepare the road. His role is more than just to announce. His role is to ensure that the recipient is ready for an encounter with the One who sends the message.
Our lives are full of messages. The messenger may indeed be a person. There are persons around us who challenge us to correct our faults and embark on personal reform. Good parents, concerned teachers, loving spouses, neighbors and friends who truly care can be that messenger God sends to inspire us to a life of renewal and change. But do we always listen to them? Pride obstructs our positive response to the messenger of God in our lives. Many times we waste the chance to live better lives because we drown the message of people who care about us, because we are too familiar with them or because we fail to appreciate their worth. Sadly, most of us realize the chance we missed when our messengers are no longer with us. Is this Advent a moment to reconsider how we treat these people?
Sometimes, the messenger is not a person but an event. There are occasions in our lives that point to the clear lessons God wishes us to learn. If we are sensitive, sickness, embarrassments, persecution, promotion, good fortune, and other significant moments are God’s ways of inviting us to look deeply into our hearts and of setting things right with God or with other people around us. Because God loves us very much, He never fails to send a messenger in our lives. Let us take a look at the people and events that awaken in us the chance to live more upright and holy lives. Each one has a John the Baptist in our hearts to prepare us for the coming of the Lord on Christmas.
#21 A JOKE FROM ST. JOE: Mother: “Billie, you should drink plenty of milk every day. It will make your teeth strong and pretty.” Billie: “Mommy, tell that to grandma.” Okay!
This second week we have the optional memorial of St. Damasus I, the Patron Saint of my priestly ordination and this year I celebrate my 42nd year of sacerdotal ordination. Pray for me on this day. On the 12th, it is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and on the 13th, the memorial of St. Lucy is celebrated. St. John of the Cross is remembered on the 14th. This is all for now, watch the next bulletin. GOD Bless!
Your Priest-Servant and Parochial; Administrator,
Fr. Reggie