In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the world of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:1-6)
Heart of Jesus Reflection
Jesus, I rest in Your Heart knowing the Healing of Your Mercy. My sins, though great, are no impediment to Your Divine Forgiveness, which purifies all stains of sin and heals all wounds, no matter how deep or how extensive the pain.
You desire for all to know, especially those most in need of Your Mercy, there is no shame, no guilt, no anger, no resentment of any kind in Your Heart – where You desire all to find their refuge and rest.
You Heart is a place of Healing, of Peace, of Love. There You transform hardened hearts to softened souls full of compassion for those most in need. You transform lukewarm hearts into fervent souls which cannot help but spread the message of Your Healing Mercy.
No repentant soul who enters Your Heart will ever leave the same. Even a touch of Your Healing Mercy will transform it forever, for it has tasted Pure Love, which it can never forget. This soul will always desire Your Pure Love, for it is You who calls to this soul day and night to return to Your Heart until it completely surrenders all to Your Love and Mercy.
Amen, Jesus, You never tire of saving souls, for Your purpose was always our redemption.
Thoughts to Ponder this Second Week of Advent
In becoming greater of aware of His presence (see First Week of Advent reflection), during this second week of Advent, we are better able to prepare our hearts for His coming.
This Gospel passage speaks of John the Baptist, a prophet, who prepared the way of the Lord through “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (John 3:6). John was able to do this as his heart had been transformed by the Love of God.
God calls us all to prepare the way and share the Good News of His Love to others and remind them of His Truth – how He sent His Son to save us from our sinfulness so we could be restored in His Love to who we were created to be.
It is important to know we need not feel shame or guilt in acknowledging our sinfulness, for the Merciful Love of Jesus takes away all shame and guilt. In turning to Him, we come to experience only joy and humility that our Savior loves us so much as to save us even though we have nothing to offer Him in return. He only desires our love and complete surrender to Him, so He can transform us.
How amazing is the Love of Jesus! This is the Good News we are to spread. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter the depth of your wounds or the horror of yours sins, Jesus loves you and desires to shower His mercy down upon you! You only need to turn to Him, so He can embrace you with His Healing Love!
In order to share this Good News, and to awaken the hearts of those who have not surrendered all to Him, we must experience the Good News and His mercy for ourselves. We must prepare our own hearts and be consumed by His Love as John the Baptist was. Then, Jesus can use us to spread His message of forgiveness, mercy, love and healing.
Let us spend time in prayer each day (to the extent we are able) to prepare our hearts by surrendering all to Him, so that we may experience His Healing Mercy and share the Good News to those He calls us to.
Prayer
My dear Jesus,
Help me to hand over my sinfulness, so You may purify my heart, and I may spread the Good News that no sin is too great for You to cleanse and restore a soul anew.
May my words speak the Truth of Your Healing Mercy, because in Your Goodness, you have allowed me to experience it for myself.
Help me to dedicate time to pray each day, to the extent I am able, so that I might come to hear Your words of Love in my heart to whom You wish I spread Your Love and Truth to today.
May all I do and say be done in Your Name and for Your Glory.
I surrender my heart into Yours, so I may help prepare hearts to know You now that they may be ready to receive You when You come again. May all hearts come to know You as their Lord, Savior, God and King.
Amen, my Jesus, amen.
A beautiful prayer! Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you, Lexie! May God bless you abundantly during this Advent and Christmas season!