Dear beloved in Christ Jesus, as we enter more deeply into our Advent journey, the prophet of the Lord, Baruch invites us all to make low the mountain and fill up the emptiness in our lives. In the words of the Prophet, “For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground.”
Mountains have a symbolic value in the religious beliefs of the people of Israel. Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. The transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Moses and Elijah took place also on a mountain Mt 17:1-8. The invitation is that we make every mountain low. Spiritually this can be interpreted as an invitation to remove the vices, evils and sins from our hearts, the dwelling place of God. 
 
The invitation to fill up the age-old depths to level the ground means we should surrender that part of our lives that is empty so Christ can fill them. That part of our lives we are refusing to give up or bring under the power and authority or control of the Lord. This is because only God can truly fill us with lasting joy, light and glory.
 
St. Paul, in the second reading, speaks about prayer, love, purity and blamelessness. Advent is a wonderful opportunity to be more prayerful, to increase the intensity of one’s prayer. It’s holy time to advance in the virtues of love, divine wisdom/knowledge and purity of heart. Phil 1:8-11.
 
Today, in the second week of Advent, we encounter the great Advent figure, John the Baptist. The word of God came to him in the desert. He proclaimed the message of baptism and repentance. His message is essentially the same as that of the prophet Baruch which we have tried to explain for our understanding. 
Jesus will later describe him as greater than a prophet, his precursor, a transitional figure called and chosen to inaugurate the period of the fulfilment of the promise of God. He began by inviting the people to prepare the way of the Lord. How? 
Make straight his paths; the life lacking in truth, transparency or filled with deceit, lies, cheating and insincerity.
 
Every mountain and hill should be made low. Again, like the prophet Baruch, John is inviting us to repentance wherein we remove or take away every evil from our lives. Dear brothers and sisters, Advent is a sacred season to level the mountain of sins in our hearts, it’s a time to surrender our hearts to Jesus to fill up the empty valleys in our lives/hearts. 
 
This Wednesday December 11th, from 6pm, we have Adoration. I invite you to come and spend some time in worship and adoration of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I invite you to come be with the Lord in personal prayer, meditation and reflection. I invite you to consider coming for the Sacrament of Reconciliation as part of your preparing the way of your heart for the coming of the Lord. Come and receive special prayer of healing from our prayer team.