1. -- Lanie
LeBlanc OP
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4. -- (Your
reflection can be here!)
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Advent 2 B 2023
Our readings this week are both comforting and
challenging. That seems fitting since it is Advent, the time
we prepare for Christmas. It is a time when that spiritual
focus gets perhaps a little blurred by the busyness as well
as the commercial things around it.
If we take the time to slow down, we do realize that all
of the hassles in the family, neighborhood, parish,
workplace, country, and the world have already been solved
by the Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. One big
problem is that we know that truth, but it takes a long
while, I think, to let that sink in and dissolve all the
extra stress in life that sometimes mounts up to enormous
levels. It is a task of a lifetime, but we can reset right
now!
Two things come to mind, directly from the readings, that
I think can be helpful. The first one is a first reaction to
John the Baptist, the one that usually sticks in the mind of
younger folks: this messenger(John the Baptist or someone in
our life) lives on the fringe and seems rather unusual. Can
the message be authentic?
The second is from our second reading. It says in part:
"what sort of persons ought you to be". I think attention to
the combination of these two thoughts might be excellent
helps for all of us. Do we miss opportunities for personal
spiritual growth because of the messenger? How can we attune
ourselves to hear what the Lord wants us to hear... and then
re-align our lives?
Advent combines the joy of the Birth of Jesus, the
enfleshed Sign of the hope of our rescue that humanity was
promised long ago, with the challenge of living as we ought
before the Final Judgment. May the Hope we so sorely need
revive our troubled world! May that Hope reset each
individual so that we will genuinely and intentionally care
for ourselves, others, and creation in accordance with the
Master Plan.
Blessings,
Dr. Lanie
LeBlanc OP
Southern
Dominican Laity
lanie@leblanc.one
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Volume 2
is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the
next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear.
Send them to
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