The season of Advent calls us to conversion of mind and heart so that we might be more open to the presence of the Lord in our lives. We are encouraged to keep our focus on God and to leave behind anything in our lives that distracts us from following Christ’s example in the Gospel. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight,” John the Baptist cries. He speaks not only to the people of his day who gathered around him but to us as well. He invites us to examine ourselves so that our hearts will be open to the presence of the Lord in our everyday living.

We pray together: St. Jude, I pray that I may radiate the joy of the Gospel to those around me.