Reflections on the Second Week of Advent

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear of one description of John the Baptist as well as his message.  At first glance, his life seems rather austere and his message on the harsh side.  But there is no doubt that he took his mission quite seriously, that of preparing the way for Jesus.  We pray that in gratitude to him we, too, can see that our mission is to collaborate with God in transforming our world into what God has intended all along, namely, one in which we address the needs of the poor and afflicted.