Second Sunday

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent.

In the Gospel reading for this Sunday of the liturgical year, we always hear John the Baptist calling us to be prepared for what's coming.

We need John the Baptist figures -- brave men and women who call us out of our comfort and complacency. As Jesuit Father Alfred Delp (1907 - 1945) once said:

"Blessed is the era that can honestly claim that it is not a desert wilderness. Woe, however to the era in which the voices calling out in the wilderness have fallen silent, shouted down by the noise of the day, or prohibited, or drowned in the intoxication with progress, or restricted and quiet out of fear and cowardice. ...

... John the Baptist figures, forged by the lightning of mission and vocation, should never be lacking from life, not for a moment. They are led by their hearts, and that is why their vision is so keen and their judgment is so incorruptible. ... "

Father Delp was executed on February 2, 1945, for being part of the German resistance to the Nazis. (His quote is from here.)

The late great Eva Cassidy once performed a superb version of "People Get Ready" that I think fits perfectly with this Sunday:


Here's another artist with a similar style:


Flashbacks: Second Sundays of Advent 2008, 2007 and 2006.

The photo above is by Corey. My suggested title: "Advent Clouds over Cambodia."