Today, on the Tuesday of second week of Advent, right after our celebration of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate the feast day of Juan Diego. He is the humble indigenous man to whom our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on Tepeyac hill in Mexico in 1531. Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary that has been approved by the Vatican. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City has become one of the major places of Catholic pilgrimage in the world. Juan Diego was canonized a saint in 2002. His simple honest faith speaks to us in the midst of our Advent journey. We will celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe this Friday on her feast day.
The message the Lord gives us today through the prophet Isaiah is: “Comfort, give comfort to my people,” says the Lord. A voice cries out to us, telling us to prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness, to make straight a way for the Lord in the desert. The prophecy of a voice crying out in the desert is fulfilled in John the Baptist, who literally comes out of the desert to proclaim Jesus’ presence to the world.
At times, we may feel like we are traveling through the desert on our journey. At times we struggle with our faith, struggle to incorporate God into our daily reality. The voice of the Lord cries out to us, telling us to take a moment to recognize that God’s presence indeed with us regardless of whatever else is going on. Isaiah brought his message of comfort to the people of Ancient Israel when many of them were in exile in Babylon after the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed. “Comfort” does not seem like a message that you would hear crying out in the middle of despair and destruction. We can find God in the midst of the pain and struggle of life. In the midst of our reality, let us prepare a path for the Lord.
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