The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. . . Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication.
(Is 35:1-10)

Advent looks forward to the two comings of Christ: his Second Coming at the end of time, and the celebration of his coming on Christmas Day more than two thousand years ago. This season is the Church’s gift to her people: an oasis of prayer and peace in the midst of a busy and often frenzied month of shopping, social events, school programs, and family preparations for Christmas. If the stress of December starts to wear you down, remember John the Baptist’s invitation to “ready the way of the Lord.”