3rd Sunday Advent - Fr. Leo

"Go and tell John what you hear and see.”

When John’s disciples ask Jesus if he is the “one-to-come,” he doesn’t say, “Yes, I’m the one.”  Rather than proclaim himself, he simply invites them to tell John what they see.  All the miraculous deeds give witness to the experience of God that is real and beyond doubt.  True faith is much more than knowledge of God, it is the experience of the living God in our lives.

The one  who will recognize God’s presence in Christ, is the one, who like John the Baptist, gives up all things so as not to be blind to the presence of God.  John did this by going out and living in the desert.  There he shunned all the false pretenses of social living, giving himself over to poverty so he could become rich in Spiritual things.

Thus, John came to understand truth, the need for change of heart, and the need to continuously seek the Lord before all else.  We join John in the desert when we take up the stillness of contemplative prayer.  In stillness, we come to recognize Christ in all things and allow his loving power to lead, heal and guide us. 

In contemplation we will know there is nothing else to seek but the oneness that comes from wordless union with God; who is beyond all words and thoughts.  This heals us and makes us whole.  It is like the snow that slowly falls, but over time whitens all things with the blanket of God’s glory.  Knowing this, let us pray with the psalmist that our souls, through the grace of God, may become whiter than snow. 

Merciful God, hear our prayer!   Come, O Come, Emmanuel.