Second Sunday of Advent

Thoughts for the Week - Fr. R. Taouk 
4th December 2016

St. John the Baptist Prepares Our Hearts to Reach Christ
by St. John Baptist de La Salle

After having prepared himself interiorly to preach to the Jewish people and in order to make them ready to receive Jesus Christ, Saint John proposed to them six ways to prepare a path and an entry into their hearts for Jesus Christ.

First, he required of them a true horror for sin, reproaching them with being "a generation of vipers".

Second, he urged them to fear the Last Judgment, assuring them that at that moment their sins would be closely scrutinised and strictly judged. "Flee," he urged them, "from the wrath to come". "Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

Third, to help them escape the rigour of that judgment, he incited them to do penance by the words: "Bring forth worthy fruits of penance".

Fourth, he did not want them to be satisfied with lamenting their sins and doing penance for them; he wanted them to do good works, without which their penances would be of no avail. This he pointed out to them by these words: "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire".

Fifth, he declared that it was not enough for them to claim Abraham as their father, that they had no right to glorify themselves on that account unless they acted as Abraham did. "Do not say", he told them, "we have Abraham for our father".

Sixth, he gave them to understand that they could not be saved, whatever good deeds they might perform, unless they practiced the good works proper and becoming to their state of life. For this reason he pointed out to the wealthy their obligation of giving alms; he told the publicans not to exact anything beyond what was due, and he enjoined on the soldiers to be content with their pay.