Get Ready
Second Sunday of Advent (A)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 3:1-12 – John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, when He begins to make Himself known to the world, we hear the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This is the primary message of John the Baptist, and this is the first message of Jesus Himself in His preaching. To them, it is of great importance to talk immediately about the idea of repentance—of turning from our sin. But today, repentance is a concept we almost never focus on. The reason we don’t focus on repentance is that we don’t want to focus on sin or the fact that we have failed.
People go to great lengths to pretend that their clearly selfish behavior is not sinful. They even try to trick themselves! Christians can’t be like this. We have to be clear: missing Mass, sexual immorality, abortion, divorce and remarriage without annulment, homosexual acts, cheating on taxes, lying, watching inappropriate TV or movies or internet… and so many other things—these things are sins. If we don’t understand that we are sinners in utter need of God’s mercy, then we are missing our path to salvation. There is a saying, “the first step to a solution is admitting there’s a problem.” We have a serious problem—it’s called sin. If we admit sin humbly, we open ourselves to its solution—God’s infinite mercy. Sin doesn’t disqualify us from God’s mercy…it is a requirement for it! During prayer, let’s examine our consciences and our sins, and picture Christ meeting us right there, gently, with mercy.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
