In the First Reading today, God comforts us through the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah then exhorts us, " Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." We are to tell everyone of the good news and to fear not! We must cry out that our God is here, our shepherd who feeds His flock and gathers the lambs and ewes with care.

This speaks to me, especially in this crazy time of turmoil and seemingly demanded suppression of our faith in God. It helps empower me so! I love to say my grace and pray over every meal, more so in restaurants. Those eyes upon me I feel and it allows me to feel closer to Him. It may seem almost insignificant at times, saying grace and thanking Him for our meals, especially out in public.
Our responsorial Psalm guides us to understand the kindness of the Lord and to ask Him to grant us salvation. I so want to become closer to God. Through the beautiful words of this Psalm, “the Lord himself gives his benefits.” Perhaps you are like me, getting caught up in the day-to-day on-goings of this world; we can sometimes lose that focus.
Our Second Reading and Alleluia remind us again to be vigilant in practicing our faith, as all will see the salvation of God. Today, the message is slightly different from the parable of the virgins waiting for the bridegroom with their lamps, but has the same theme: be prepared and conduct ourselves in holiness and devotion, as we know not the time the Lord will come again.
In the Gospel today, we hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah that God is coming! He sent a messenger before Him to prepare the way. He is trying to ensure we are prepared. I think this Advent, probably more than most others I can recall, it is extremely important to focus on the non-consumer side of Christmas. We have had months to identify with our family those things that are truly important to us and shed some of the material possessions. ~Ray Martinelli