In reflections made last week, Pope John Paul spoke on the meaning of Advent and asked Mary Immaculate "to help us to prepare well' the way of the Lord' within ourselves and in the world."
He said that "The entire liturgy of Advent echoes (St. John the Baptist), the precursor of Christ, who invites us to go out to welcome Christ Who comes to save us. We thus prepare to commemorate the birth that took place in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. We renew our faith in His glorious coming to the end of time. We thus prepare to recognize Him in our midst. He in fact visits us even in the people and events of our daily life."
"Our model and guide," added the Pope, "in this spiritual itinerary typical of Advent is Mary. She who is blessed much more because she believed in Christ than because she physically gave Him life. In her, preserved free from every sin and filled with grace, God found 'good earth' to plant the seed of the new humanity."
