Traditional Catholic Teaching - FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.
St. Luke 3: 4.

The words "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" were addressed by St. John to the Jews, but they are addressed also to us. We are called upon to do what we can, in order that Christ may come by grace into our hearts and fill them more and more with it. We ought to do this now, more than at any other season, for Christmas is close at hand, and it behooves us to pray earnestly day by day, surveying our sins and shortcomings and striving to correct them, whilst we think often of God and try with all our might to do His will. If we take pains to offer willing hearts to our Lord, we shall deserve to be cleansed, strengthened and sanctified by His grace at Christmas. Then this great festival will bring us all the benefits that the Church intends, for the festivals of Holy Church are profitable to us only if we prepare our hearts for them by true purposes of amendment, and not if we look forward to them with careless indifference.

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Let us remember St. John's admonition before each of the great feasts, and let it remind us to prepare for its celebration by fervent devotion and renewed efforts to lead a virtuous life. There is, however, no season of the year when it is not our duty to prepare our hearts for the Lord. Every day that dawns ought to bid us prepare His way, and bring us nearer to Him, and pour His grace more abundantly into our souls.

As we have already seen, the practice of making pious meditations will help us greatly in our efforts to prepare the way of the Lord. We considered last week the importance and the manner of making meditations, but there is one point connected with the matter that requires further study. Some one may ask what subjects we ought to select for meditation.

There are innumerable subjects that, if we meditate upon them, will supply us with holy thoughts and will suggest good resolutions, for, as the Psalmist says: "The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of His hands" (Ps. 18: 2). All nature in her wonderful beauty furnishes us with abundant materials for meditation, and our Lord Himself bade us contemplate nature when he said: "Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feedeth them" (Matthew 6: 26). "Consider the lilies how they grow; they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these" (Luke 12: 27). There are other passages, too, in which our Lord refers to the sparrows on the roof, and to the hairs on our head, in order to stimulate our feelings of confidence, gratitude and love of God.

Yet, although Christ Himself referred frequently to nature, natural objects ought not to form the usual basis of our meditation, since the human heart is more influenced by the truths made known to us by divine revelation, and especially by the infinite, incomprehensible love with which God so loved the world as to send His only begotten Son into the world, and give us with Him all salvation, all truth, and all the means of grace, without which it wouId be impossible for us to reach heaven.

The ordinary subjects of our meditation should be Jesus Christ, His revelation and the gifts of His grace, and we ought, as St. Paul says, to desire to know nothing save Christ crucified. Following therefore the holy Apostle's example, let us take as subjects for meditation, not the wonders of nature, but rather the truths belonging to the order of grace. Although nature in her manifold outward manifestations serves to raise our thoughts from things seen to things unseen, she cannot rise above herself, but can only point out the way to God from a distance, and even then she is no infallible guide. Meditating on the beauties and wonders of nature may flatter the imagination, but it does not supply strength and comfort to the heart or encourage it to make good resolutions. Such meditation may suggest beautiful thoughts and sentiments, but it cannot inspire us to perform actions demanding mortification and self-denial. It may give rise to exalted flights of the intellect, but it does not enable a man to bear with patience his lot in life if it is hard and wearisome. Yes, unless we have previously learned how to meditate upon the unchanging truths of divine revelation, mere contemplation of nature can only too easily become an opportunity for indulging the lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the pride of life.

Nature worship led the Pagans of old into idolatry and suggested to them the mad idea that it was possible to serve their gods by means of crimes. Even in our own day the study of nature by a sensual mind, devoid of all higher light, often results in the worship of nature and of self, in unbelief and in the immorality to which unbelief gives rise.

It is impossible, therefore, to say that nature ought to supply us with our chief subjects for meditation; it cannot supply us with any at all, unless they are regarded from a truly Christian point of view.

The mysteries of God's revelation are, above all things, the subjects upon which we ought to meditate with humility of heart. But they are very numerous — which of them ought we especially to choose?

Some of them are calculated to awaken our hope in God or our fear of Him; others tend to stimulate our gratitude and love. To the first class belong the solemn truths regarding death, judgment and hell, and, when we meditate upon them, we are deeply moved and impelled to despise the things of earth and to set our desires upon those of eternity. To the second class belong the mysteries concerning the life and Passion of Christ, and God's infinite perfections, for we cannot contemplate His majesty, goodness, wisdom, etc., without feeling love, thankfulness, joy and admiration. Finally, there are other meditations also belonging to the order of grace, in which we base our reflections upon the acts, the self-surrender, the victories and triumphs of some particular saints. Above all, one of our favorite subjects should be the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a life containing many examples for us all of purity, humility and obedience, and full of faith and confidence in God and of love.

For all Christians, with no distinction of age or position, the best of all subjects for meditation are those connected with our Lord's Passion. He displayed as in a mirror all the virtues pleasing to God and truly heroic, and from Him we derive consolation in all the circumstances of life and strength to enable us to do right. The Cross of Christ was the book constantly studied by the saints, from which they learned the way to heaven. They never were weary of regarding themselves in this mirror of souls. Let us form the habit of saying to ourselves on every occasion: "This is how Jesus behaved; this is how He spoke, judged and acted; such were His dispositions in circumstances resembling my own. Thus would He think, speak and act, were He in my position."

If we keep the eyes of our mind fixed constantly on Him, our great and holy Example, we shall see plainly enough how we may best prepare the way of the Lord, and which path will lead us to heaven. May He guide us on our road, and may we follow Him faithfully. Amen.

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