{"id":5878,"date":"2019-12-01T20:12:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T01:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?page_id=5878"},"modified":"2022-02-17T08:35:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T13:35:27","slug":"prepare-the-way-of-the-lord-advent-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/prepare-the-way-of-the-lord-advent-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepare the Way of the Lord &#8211; Advent 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"youtube-responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rF3Az2_NSzg?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary\">Summary <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe talks about the importance of using Advent to make our own preparations for the coming of Jesus. He discusses how John the Baptist shows the example of humility through always pointing his life to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Registered, yet? Don\u2019t miss the rest of the talks! Register for the Pray More Retreat<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/2019-advent-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click Here to Register!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"downloads\">Downloads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"audio-mp3\">Audio MP3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/13-Fr.-Patrick-Prepare-the-Way-of-the-Lord.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to download audio file.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-study-guide-pdf\">Printable Study Guide PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Prepare-the-Way-of-the-Lord.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to download the printable study guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-transcript-pdf\">Printable Transcript PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Prepare-the-Way-of-the-Lord-Transcript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to download the transcript of the video presentation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"reflective-study-guide-questions\">Reflective Study Guide Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cI am \u2018the voice of one crying out in the desert, \u201cMake straight the way of the Lord.\u201d\u2019\u201d <\/p><cite><em>John 1:23<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>John the Baptist preached of the need for a baptism of repentance, to prepare for Christ\u2019s coming. One of the best ways for us to practice repentance is through the sacrament of confession. Father Patrick says we should particularly use our Advent confession as an opportunity to examine how well we are preparing for Christ\u2019s coming in our lives. How are you preparing for Christ to come into your heart each day?<br><br><\/li><li> As we focus on repentance this Advent, we can work to strengthen our <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/lenten-practices-prayer-fasting-and-almsgiving-lent-2022\/\">prayer lives and to practice works of charity or fasting<\/a>. In what ways can you fast or practice works of charity to help prepare your heart for Christ\u2019s coming?<br><br><\/li><li>Another way that John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus was to point others to Him. We can prepare the way for Christ\u2019s coming by seeking to point others to Him as well. How can you help point others in your life toward Christ this Advent?<br><br><\/li><li>John the Baptist proclaimed that he wasn\u2019t worthy to untie the straps of Christ\u2019s sandals. This humility was very important for his work of preparing the way for Jesus. How can you work on growing in humility in your life this Advent?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"text-prepare-the-way-of-the-lord\">Text: Prepare the Way of the Lord<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"vox-clamantis-in-deserto\">Vox Clamantis in Deserto<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. <\/em>One of my favorite college mottos is that of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Dartmouth\u2019s motto is \u201cVox clamantis in deserto,\u201d this great depiction of John the Baptist described as the voice crying out in the wilderness, the one who calls out in the desert. In fact, at the Catholic chapel there adjacent to the campus &#8211; known fondly by those who frequent it as AQ, or Aquinas House as it\u2019s more properly called &#8211; the chapel there has this beautiful stained glass window with this phrase in it, \u201cVox clamantis in deserto.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, the founder of Dartmouth College was hoping that it would be that voice crying out in the wilderness. That, in 1769, it might represent that voice crying out, expressing the Christian faith. This motto is so beautiful because it encapsulates not just one Christian\u2019s project, not just one view or aspiration of what one particular school might be, but, in many ways, it\u2019s the substance of the Christian vocation: To dare to be the voice that cries out in the wilderness, a voice today that can speak of Christ amid all the other noises. To be a Christian is to be a voice that can say \u201cI know the man. I can announce that He is the way, and the truth, and the life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"john-the-baptist\">John the Baptist<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>John the Baptist was that first voice crying out in the wilderness, and this announcement, most importantly, was that the way of the Lord must be prepared. <strong><em>\u201cPrepare the way of the Lord.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> That\u2019s the title for Today\u2019s conference: Prepare the Way of the Lord. I want to consider this important theme of Advent, of preparation, as a development of one of the other great themes of Advent, which is waiting. Because preparation is not just a kind of absent waiting or vacant waiting; preparation is an active waiting, a getting ready for, a making room for what is to come. John the Baptist, the voice crying out in the desert, announced <strong><em>\u201cPrepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> As the prophet Isaiah tells us, <strong><em>\u201cPrepare a highway for our God.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what does this preparation look like? How is the way of the Lord prepared? Well, I\u2019m going to suggest that there are three major aspects of the life of John the Baptist that we can look to. First, we can consider that John preached a baptism of repentance. Second, we can consider that he pointed always to Christ. That he declared not just <strong><em>\u201cPrepare the way of the Lord,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> but that <strong><em>\u201cThis is the Lamb of God.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> And finally, we can consider John the Baptist\u2019s personal disposition before Christ, his great humility, such that the man would say <strong><em>\u201cI am not worthy to untie the straps of His sandals.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, first, the baptism of repentance. Advent, as a time of preparation, is a time of penance. So, of course, the most obvious form of repentance for us Catholics is to make a worthy confession. Many parishes announce special Advent penance services, or offer days where confession is available all day. Allow your Advent confession to be a particular time of assessment of your soul. How are you preparing for Christ to come into your heart each day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"make-your-soul-ready\">Make Your Soul Ready<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">Of course, the graces of the sacrament are aided by regular prayer. If you\u2019re listening to this conference, you\u2019ve already taken on the disposition, the duty, the special opportunity of enhancing your <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/letting-go-of-sin-for-the-hopeful-life-advent-2019\/\">life in prayer during Advent<\/a>. This can be complemented by undertaking works of charity. Many churches offer opportunities to be of service in a particular way during this season. Take advantage of it, take more ornaments than you usually would off the Advent Giving Tree, undertake other works of charity in an intentional way, do something for someone you know who needs a particular act of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a real penance to take the time, to use your means, to do this for Christ, to prepare the way for Him so that this other soul can more readily experience Christmas, so that this other soul might know Christ\u2019s coming more clearly. Finally, don\u2019t be afraid to take on some element of fasting. Deprive yourself of something this Advent. Make your soul ready. Prepare the way by announcing the baptism of repentance that John preached, turning again and again to the Lord, who is coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-lamb-of-god\">The Lamb of God<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">John the Baptist\u2019s second great role, the second great thing that he teaches us in his live and the gospels is this disposition of pointing always to Christ. One beautiful artistic depiction of this that I love is Matthias Gr\u00fcnewald\u2019s Crucifixion. It was completed in 1515, and it was designed as part of an altarpiece in Alsace, in France. This particular painting, in which the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/can-you-drink-the-chalice-im-going-to-drink-lent-2020\/\">suffering<\/a> Christ is situated right in the middle &#8211; He\u2019s accompanied too by Mary Magdalene and Mary &#8211; and there, also in the scene of crucifixion, is John the Baptist. Now, of course, this is a mystical depiction of the crucifixion; John the Baptist was not there when Christ was crucified. At the Baptist\u2019s feet, the artist has placed a lamb, and the lamb carries in its arm a cross. It\u2019s John the Baptist who recognizes <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-genealogy-of-jesus-and-why-it-matters-advent-2020\/\">Jesus<\/a> as the Lamb of God. \u201cBehold the Lamb of God!\u201d he cries out. He points to Him. And in this beautiful painting, he illustrates again that he, John, is a witness to the lamb who is going to be led into slaughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of this is part of why the Protestant theologian Karl Barth loved the painting so much. He says that the church believes and recognizes God in Christ. \u201cIt can only look out of the darkness in the direction in which a human being is to be seen in a light, the source of which it cannot see itself.\u201d John the Baptist can only point. None of us is the light. Christ is the center of the painting, and all of us turn to Christ, saying \u201cBehold the Lamb of God! Look to Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/st-josephs-side-of-the-story-advent-2018\/\">Joseph<\/a> Ratzinger once asked \u201cIn what does man\u2019s wretchedness actually consist?\u201d Ratzinger suggests that man\u2019s wretchedness is loneliness, the absence of love. And I would propose alongside Ratzinger\u2019s view that loneliness is daring to put oneself at the center of the paining, to have nothing else in one\u2019s life to point to. This is what it means to lack communion, to lack the ability of beholding the Lamb of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-man-born-blind\">The Man Born Blind<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>C. S. Lewis talks about this in a really powerful way in his short story, The Man born Blind. In the story, the man born blind can\u2019t see, and then he undergoes a surgery I think, I can\u2019t remember. There\u2019s some kind of circumstance and he\u2019s now able to see. Lewis asks in the story what it would be like for someone who previously had not been able to see to learn what light is, and he has this great dialog where the man is asking \u201cWhat is the light?\u201d So the dialog includes lines like \u201cCan you see it? Where is it?\u201d \u201cWhy, it\u2019s all around us,\u201d the person asserts to the formerly blind man. And then the man goes around and he asks \u201cIs it the table? Is it the lightbulb?\u201d And the person who\u2019s always been able to see keeps insisting \u201cIt\u2019s all around us. It\u2019s the light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have to be cognizant, as we prepare the way, that there are people who lack the ability to just point to Christ and say \u201cThis is the Lamb of God.\u201d People who can\u2019t turn to the crucifix and say \u201cI know what that sacrifice means.\u201d It\u2019s like a blind man who\u2019s not been able to see light. Part of the Christian vocation and preparing the way is having a confidence that \u201cI know who the Lamb is. I know the way that people have to take to follow Him. I can behold Him, I can spot Him, I can point to Him and, with my own life, I can magnify who He is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-need-for-communion\">A Need for Communion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The Second Vatican Council announces in an extraordinary way this need for communion. In the document Gaudium et spes, the Council Fathers proclaim: \u201cThe dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love He continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to the truth unless he acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To acknowledge the love we were made for, the communion that every human heart desires, to be able to reach out to God, to behold Him, is to know that Christ is the Lamb. That our truest self is revealed in our communion with Him by our being able to point to Christ and to say \u201cI know Him, and I love Him, and I am with Him.\u201d To prepare the way, then, for Christ is to help others to be able to see this, to give them this invitation, this kind of response to the deepest yearning of our human hearts. Finally, the last great act of John the Baptist, after his preaching of the baptism of repentance, after his pointing to the Lamb of God, is the demonstration of his own personal virtue, of his great humility, his saying before Christ \u201cI am not worthy to untie the straps of His sandals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"humility\">Humility<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Aquinas tells us that humility is necessary to pursue difficult goods, because humility tempers and restrains the mind, lest otherwise the mind tend to high things immoderately. The virtue of humility is that which allows us to pursue, in a reasonable way, what is ours. Humility is a kind of self-knowing, the recognition of who Christ really is in the life of the believer, and announcing one\u2019s lowliness in a way that entrusts all to Him. Humility is a kind of self-knowledge and, for the believer, it always means recognizing who Christ is. I have not righted the world by my death and resurrection. I have not been able to announce that each baptized Christian is in a dynamic communion with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is something only the Son can announce, and John the Baptist sees that and knows that, and proclaims <strong><em>\u201cI am not worthy to untie the straps of His sandals.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Mass, St. Francis of Assisi is able to see the extraordinary humility of Christ, of the living God. The extraordinary desire of Christ to humble Himself for our salvation, hiding Himself even, as Francis puts it, under a morsel of bread. John the Baptist sees this great humility of Christ and exemplifies it, embraces it, makes it his own in his own virtue. <strong><em>\u201cI am not worthy to untie the straps of His sandals,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> the great John the Baptist says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">In the life of John the Baptist, we see something more than a prophet. The Catechism asserts that the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/how-to-be-led-by-the-holy-spirit-lent-2020\/\">Holy Spirit<\/a> concludes His speaking through the prophets, and John completes this cycle by offering something even more than the prophets knew. Something greater than Elijah is here, we might say. John comes to bear witness to Christ, to bear witness to the light, to be the voice that cries out in the wilderness, to be the one who says that this Christ, this Christ is to be known and loved, and that the way for Him must be prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With John the Baptist, then, let us recommit ourselves to the need for repentance this Advent, that we might do penance to prepare the way, that we might have a confidence in our need and our invitation to point always to Christ, that we might live in communion with Him. And to take on in ourselves a new desire to practice humility, that we can say with John the Baptist \u201cI am unworthy to untie the straps of His sandals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-fr-patrick-mary-briscoe\">About Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"382\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fr.-Patrick-Headshot.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5653\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fr.-Patrick-Headshot.png 310w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fr.-Patrick-Headshot-243x300.png 243w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/speaker-fr-patrick-mary-briscoe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Father Patrick Mary Briscoe<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;has recently finished his studies in theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Ordained a priest in May 2016, he presently serves at St. Pius V parish in Providence, Rhode Island. He has two younger sisters&#8211;who are twins&#8211;and thus has no fear of picking fights, even when he&#8217;s outnumbered!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fr. Patrick graduated from Saint Mary&#8217;s University of Minnesota, where he majored in philosophy and French literature. Since joining the Dominican Order, he has served in campus ministry, as an intern at the Archdiocese of Washington, as a missionary in Kenya (alongside the Missionaries of Charity), and at St. Matthew&#8217;s Cathedral in Washington, DC.&nbsp;Following his ordination to the priesthood, he worked on special assignment for the Knights of Columbus in Krakow, Poland, as an organizer at the World Youth Day Mercy Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/The-Pray-More-Retreat-Bottom-Webpage-Image-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Pray More Retreat\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe talks about the importance of using Advent to make our own preparations for the coming of Jesus. He discusses how John the Baptist shows the example of humility through always pointing his life to God. Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat! Not Registered, yet? 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Patrick Mary Briscoe talks about the importance of using Advent to make our own preparations for the coming of Jesus. He discusses how John the Baptist shows the example of humility through always pointing his life to God. Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat! Not Registered, yet? 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