Fr. Jorge Miró shares with the readers of Exaudi his commentary on the Gospel of this Sunday, December 1, 2024, entitled “Your liberation is near”
We begin a new liturgical year, and with it, the time of Advent, which is a gift from the Lord; a precious time in which the Lord reminds you that you are not alone, that you have been created out of love, and that He is knocking today at the door of your life to give you a new life, to live in you.
Advent is the time of joyful hope before the coming of Christ the Savior in the humility of our flesh and his glorious return at the end of time.
During the difficulties and problems of everyday life, we can live with hope, because we are certain of God’s faithfulness: there is nothing and no one that can separate us from the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus (cf. Rom 8).
The Word invites us to look for faith in our life and history: To you, Lord, I lift my soul… The Lord trusts in those who fear him… he teaches his way to the humble. This look of faith leads you to discover that you are loved by God. You do not exist by chance or by a fatality of destiny: God has created you so that you may live a love story with Him. Thus, your life is a story of love and salvation that God is doing with you, because in all things God intervenes for the good of those who love him (cf. Rom 8:28).
The Word invites us to have three attitudes to hope for and welcome God’s Salvation:
Living in hope. It is living by faith, trusting in the Lord and not in our strength or our criteria. God is faithful and keeps his promises. Beyond appearances is God’s salvation, which is always manifested in the small, the humble, the simple. Good proof of this will be the celebration of Christmas: Jesus will be born in the humility of the manger in Bethlehem. The Kingdom of God belongs to the poor, to the little ones, to those who trust… Mary will be the one who, better than anyone, will guide us along the path of Advent: Blessed are you who have believed… The Lord shows his way to the humble…
Jesus announces salvation and asks us to be awake, to be vigilant: Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be made dull by revelry, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day come upon you suddenly.
To be holy and blameless before God. What does it mean to be holy? Pope Francis reminded us of this in the exhortation Gaudete et exultate: We are all called to be saints, living with love and offering our own witness in the occupations of each day, wherever we find ourselves. Let the grace of your Baptism bear fruit in a path of holiness. Let everything be open to God and to do so, choose him, choose God again and again. Do not be discouraged, because you have the strength of the Holy Spirit to make it possible, and holiness, in essence, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life (cf. Gal 5:22-23; cf. GE, 14-15).
It is essential that you have an attitude of humility to want to get closer to the Lord, to take advantage of this new opportunity that He gives you and to let Him be in your heart.
It is necessary to intensify prayer and listening to the Word of God, praise, the sacraments and spiritual combat to live in trust and fidelity to the will of God. In short, it is necessary to prepare the heart so that the Lord can dwell in it. Are you up for it? Do not let this opportunity that the Lord offers you pass by! We must always be vigilant!
Come, Holy Spirit!
