Saint John the Baptist is the great forerunner who has been sent out to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. He serves as a voice which draws souls to come and encounter Christ and thus too when they come to behold Him that they may be found able to accept Him. The season of Advent concerns itself with assisting us in not only coming to behold the Messiah who is drawing close, but to also begin to set straight the paths of our life in order that we may come to behold Him more clearly.
We live in the midst of a world that has cast itself into the baroness of the desert, but we in return do not have to remain lost here. Jesus Christ invites us to pass out of this desert and thus "put on the splendor of glory from God." Prior to our baptism we were found lost within this desert, but thanks to the gift of our baptism we have journeyed away from here towards God. Why would we ever want to confuse ourself into turning back towards our former way of life instead of continuing to journey onward towards Christ?
Not only does John the Baptist reecho these words taken from the Prophet Isaiah that we heard proclaimed in today's Gospel, but later He will come to behold Christ with his own eyes and proclaim to all with great faith: "Behold the Lamb of God." We hear these same words proclaimed to us before we receive the Eucharist and thus invite Christ the sacrificial lamb into our life. The Eucharist is the food that comes down from Heaven and thus encourages us onward towards Heaven. It is food for the journey that we may not lose faith and hope and turn back towards the enslavement of our former way of life, but instead that we may always look forward by putting "on the splendor of glory from God."
How we come to accept the Eucharist into our life is exactly how we come to accept Christ into our life. This is true because Christ is the Eucharist where the Lamb of God is to be encountered. We set straight the path of our life, not for some unknown moment, but instead for today when we invite Christ in the Eucharist into our life. From the Second Letter of Saint Peter: "be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him."
Therefore I invite you to come before the Lord and present yourself to Him. What are the fears and worries of your life? Present them unto the Lord! How has your life entered into the baroness of the desert? Present it unto the Lord! Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a great gift because at any hour of the day, in the midst of any struggle or need, you can come before the Lord and present all before Him. Our world is filled with stories of tragedy; tragedy which we cannot fix on our own, but fear not to present your needs unto the Lord! For here alone can all things be made well.
Let us come to humbly pray before Christ who is present with us in the Eucharist. May we come to behold the Lamb of God who continues to present Himself unto us under the presence of bread and wine. In the Eucharist Christ continues to come before us to dwell; let us make straight the path for all shall see the salvation of God.
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