Reflections from the Heart – December 4, 2022

Second Sunday of Advent
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction.”  This Advent Season, our Lord encourages us by his own words not to lose heart but to take courage, to keep watch over our thoughts, feelings and desires and to be vigilant and to pray with unwavering hope and joyful expectation of his return. “That by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” and joyfully anticipate with a great longing the Advent of Christ and the welcoming of the glorious Kingdom of God into our heart, into our life, into our death, into our life eternal.  Scripture is not merely words on a page or a document written to capture what history wishes to tell us or inform us. Scripture is not simply a manuscript highlighting ancient biblical events, or a book sharing a family’s ancestral heritage or an explanation of ancestral traditions or the capturing of prophetic utterings. Scripture is so much more. Scripture is alive with angelic songs and hymns. It breathes God’s whispers into our ears, into our hearts and into our imagination. These words cry out for our attention, our love, our salvation.  These words heal, they lift up, they form, they inform and they educate. They remind us of an ancient love so old beyond words, description or telling.  Scripture is a faith-filled and a faithful person. It is a prayer, a heavenly encounter, a necessary need. Scripture is ever so holy, so pure.  A deep personal and intimate relationship, an eternal friendship, the eternal Word of God. Scripture was written for you, lived for you, fulfilled for you, gathered for you, recalled for you, proclaimed for you, captured so that you may always remember, be reminded and never forget that Scripture has saved you and promised you an undying life in eternal splendor with God and all the holy people of God.  Are you ready Scripture asks? Are you truly ready if the Advent of Christ was today, tomorrow or the next day? Can you say with absolute certainty, you are good and that all is truly well with your soul. That your heart is pure, ready and fit for a king and not just any king but the King of kings the Lord of lords. Scripture invites you to pay close attention this Advent Season. The prophets of old, the saints of yesteryear, the evangelizers and gospel writers encourage and inspire you to be ready, to be attentive to the words that are being spoken and proclaimed so “Prepare the way of the Lord.”