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2nd Sunday of Advent

In our personal lives, we sense a great need for change. At around Christmas, we become more reflective. We begin to assess our past and see how we have grown or how we have just stayed the same, or sad of all, how we have even regressed into something worse than we were before. Looking at our experiences, we know there are many things that need to be set straight. How we wish we can love all over again. How we wish we can work justly all over again. How we wish we can re-write some of our experiences and relationships in life.

Advent and Christmas actually offer us hope. Isaiah speaks of a vision of a new world and a new life. John the Baptist tells us that the key to this newness is conversion: Reform your lives! Prepare for the coming of the Lord! Allow change to happen within you!

(more from my book "Rejoice and Be Glad: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, Cycle C" (StPauls, Makati City)

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