“A voice proclaims: In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway  for our God! Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low.” (Is 40: 3-4). These famous words from the prophet Isaiah have long been seen by the Church as a call for the faithful to prepare to meet the Lord. 

 

The Gospel of Luke uses this very text to describe the preaching of John the Baptist as he prepared the way for Jesus by going “throughout [the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Lk 3:3).

 

The lowering of mountains and the filling in of valleys is arduous work in the physical world. If we have ever watched earthmovers preparing the ground for a building project we might marvel at how much force and effort is needed to change the earth so that it is level. And when that work is accomplished, new views unblocked by hills become possible. And different ways of going forward are not hindered by a descent into lowly obstacles.

 

It is this vision that is really unique to the season of Advent. Unlike Lent, which focuses heavily on seeking the forgiveness of our sins, Advent urges us to prepare our souls to receive Christ who seeks to come to us now as He did in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago and will come again at the end of time.

 

We should take seriously the importance and, at times, the difficulty of the spiritual task of preparing our souls to receive the Lord worthily and well. Spiritual changes can often be more difficult, not only to accomplish but also to maintain, than lowering the highest of hills.

 

It is our time in this life to be tested to see if we will love the Lord and use our free will to fulfill His commands. Because of the wounds of sin that afflict our nature, we are tempted to seek our own will, to search for human approval and to desire the pleasures of this world that separate us from God. Those are the spiritual hills and valleys.

 

Our time in history is particularly dangerous spiritually. While sin is present in every age, our own time is willfully renouncing the presence of God in our lives. Mass and church attendance is dropping and with it is the loss of the recourse to prayer and to the sacraments. 

 

Even more, our secular culture is trying to fill the resulting void with a materialistic pursuit of earthly happiness and an increasing rejection of the joys and sacrifices of family life that could give spiritual support and reinforcement.

 

The result is that many of us build up mountains of pride and self-centeredness. Our individualistic culture places a high value on the rights of the individual to desire and to acquire. Habits then arise in us that exclude seeking the good of others, living simply and seeking to be happy and satisfied with simple and spiritual things.

 

The good news is that the Lord has seen this before. His coming at Christmas was to put an end to Satan’s power over this world. Christ’s establishing of the Church and entrusting to Her the gift of the sacraments ensure His presence until the end of this age.

 

Isaiah and John the Baptist point the way for us. We have all the tools and the help we need to make straight the Lord’s path to our souls. Advent is the time to take them up again so that Christ finds welcome in us. There is still a week until Christmas. Plenty of time to lower hills and fill valleys in our hearts.