The Church’s focus at this time of the year is based on the theme of the family.

The Family Is Our Connection To God: Likewise, we receive life from God through our parents; they from their parents; and then repeated over and over all the way back to God, who is the author of all life, beginning with Jesus Christ, made in the image and likeness of God.

“The Baby Jesus is born soon and needs a pure and clean manger to be placed in. Your soul is His manger. Enjoy the divine infant laying on you and resting in peace. See the multitudes coming to adore the Christ child in you! O, Holy night!!”

A friend of mine in Mount Angel, Oregon, Tony Morris, texted me this meditation a few years ago. I think that it captures the essence of our spiritual pilgrimage each December from Nazareth to the City of David, Bethlehem, the House of Bread.

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, cycle B, the Church presents us with the powerful stories of both the Annunciation and Mary’s Visitation to Elizabeth. The Annunciation was a favorite of Catholic artists, especially the great Fra Angelico. The Madrid Annunciation (tempera on panel, c. 1435, Madrid: Museo del Prado) is one of the classic depictions of the event by this great master.

"Joy Is The Echo Of God’s Life In Your Soul"

So wrote Blessed Columba Marmion, OSB. If we have the Spirit of God in us, we cannot contain it. It comes out in incredible joy. We are able to rejoice because we have made it past the half-way point on our annual Advent pilgrimage to Bethlehem. Most of all we have the gift of faith. We have Emmanuel, God-with-us, on our journey and God will provide for all of our needs. John gave everything to show us Jesus. ‘The voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord!”’

Today’s gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle C, again proclaims the role of John the Baptist as an essential player on the stage of Salvation History. This week’s pairing of Old and New Testament readings also makes it clear that the action upon the stage of human history is directed by the Holy Spirit. Annibale Carracci’s early17th century work, “Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness” (oil on copper, c. 1600, New York: The Metropolitan Museum), may offer some assistance as we continue our Advent preparation.

The Advent Season is a real call to conversion and renewal, not a temporary time of change.

Last week, Jesus warned us: ‘Watch!’; today, John the Baptist cries: ‘Repent…’ The desert is a place of purifying and of cleansing, with no distractions and even fewer sources of food and water; survival (or salvation) is the only thing that matters.

On this Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle B, we begin consecutive Sundays focused on the preaching of John the Baptist. Luca Giordano’s late 17th Century painting, Saint John the Baptist Preaching (oil on copper, ca. 1695, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art), may help us with some visual cues to understand our call in this initial Advent encounter with John.

The image depicts John the Baptist traditionally, with the camel-hair garb, and the thin staff with a cross at the top, a common symbol associated with him, along with the red drape of the martyr. His halo, marking his holiness and the fact that he is the central figure in the image, offers a less traditional glow about his head and shoulders rather than the normal disc or circle above the head.

“It’s a busy time.” “I am worn out from all the running around.” “Sometimes it feels like one thing after another.” These are common phrases in the lexicon of most of us as we approach the Holiday Season each year. We have things to do, tasks to accomplish, and guests to entertain. On this First Sunday of Advent, however, we are invited to shift our focus. Christ reminds us, as we begin our journey to the manger, that we must keep watch.