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By Sarah Chichester (Dec 11, 2011)
The following is the second in a series of reflections for Advent.

Last week we cried out in our brokenness, Come, Lord Jesus! We need You!

Let's continue to cry out in this spirit of hope. After all, Advent unfolds the expectation that you and I, the Church, and indeed all of creation have in the coming of our Savior, the One who enters into our brokenness: Jesus.

Who needs a Messiah? Who needs a Savior? You and I. And Advent gives voice to our need, to our cry for a Messiah, to our hope in a Savior. Come and save us, Lord our God; let Your face shine on us, that we may be healed. [Gospel antiphon for Monday of the First Week of Advent, Ps 80:4.]

Very often we search for the remedy to our heartache in things, in a new dress or a faster computer. We dull our sense of something missing in our lives by reclining in the comfort of our armchairs as we flick through television stations. We hide our neediness in perfectly wrapped presents or brightly lit Christmas lights. But the ache persists, even if we've shoved it into the background.

Jesus is the true Remedy to our longing, He is the Divine Physician who alone heals our great wound, our need for God. And He's coming to heal you this Christmas.

This week, let's put aside the magazines with their pages of seasonal sales, put down the remote, step back from the wrapping paper and tape, and turn our hearts toward Mary and Joseph, and the hidden Christ Child, as they make the journey to Bethlehem.

This week, let our hearts cry out, Come, Lord Jesus, prepare my heart for the journey to Bethlehem! Lord, prepare my grieving, lonely, anxious heart!

Our Lord will hear our cry, and with our hearts thus prepared, we will travel with Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.

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