Second Sunday of Advent
Reflection
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:1-8
Repentance is not only personal. It calls us beyond ourselves and our circumscribed world. It promises that a willingness to change opens the way to new life. Repentance is an inner urging to return to societal balance and order and leave behind the chaos of a dysfunctional world. To repent accepts a renewal of our relationship with God and one another. It offers the challenge of a new beginning. To repent is to follow the way that leads out of alienation to reconnection.
Prayer
May I repent where it is necessary and enjoy living at peace.
Action
Reflect on what needs to be reconnected in your life whether it be with a person or as part of the wider sphere of life. Having experienced all the social disconnections of the past weeks, analyze where we are all being called to repentance. Focus on one thing you can do to foster reconnection whether it be personal or in a broader context.
Suggested Readings
Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled with them, and then come and present your offering.
Matthew 5:23
Today’s liturgy tells us, in the words of John, that it is necessary to repent, to change direction and take the path of justice, solidarity, sobriety.
Pope Francis
To repent does not mean to feel really bad about sins; rather, it means to embark upon a path of return. The journey begins in exile, and the destination is a return to life in the presence of God.
Marcus Borg
God is not looking for repayment, but repentance. What heals a broken relationship is sincere love and contrition.
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Of all acts of man repentance is the most divine. The greatest of all faults is to be conscious of none.
Thomas Carlyle
Healing yourself is connected with healing others.
Yoko Ono
Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change.
Ezra Taft Benson
Repentance means you change your mind so deeply that it changes you.
Bruce Wilkinson
Genuine repentance must bear the seal of a corrected life.
Lewis F. Korns
He that never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes, and will never be wiser on the morrow than he is today.
Tyrone Edwards