Michele Dunne OFS
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Luke 3: 5-6)
While I was at mass on the second Sunday of Advent, a fellow choir member leaned over after the reading of the Gospel and whispered, “The winding roads shall be made straight, 4 and the rough ways made smooth—sounds like Infrastructure Week!” Although I chuckled silently at the connection between the scriptures and U.S. politics, his comment nonetheless got me thinking. What was the infrastructure that God might want to build in my life this Advent?
When highways are built, the old roads or paths that existed across valleys and around hills are widened and straightened. Where an old path might have zigzagged over a mountain, a new road might make a smooth curve around it or even cut a tunnel through. New highways create bridges over tunnels or under bodies of water. Rough dirt or gravel roads give way to smooth paving. All of this is done to make travel easy and smooth, allowing cars and trains to traverse in hours distances that once took days or weeks to cross.
Advent is the perfect time to reflect quietly on where the mountains and valleys—the obstacles that keep me from being a smooth highway for the Holy Spirit—are in my life at this point. Might the high mountains in my life be my vanity and pride, including spiritual pride? The ways that I see myself as superior to others, or the ways that I keep trying to be in control? Might the valleys in my life be the vestiges of low self-esteem or materialism, the ways I keep setting low expectations for myself or staying in my comfort zone instead of courageously making the changes to which God keeps inviting me?
One practice I have adopted this Advent is to read one of St. Francis’ Admonitions each day during prayer. There are 28 of them, so they fit into this season well. I have found much food for reflection–for example, in Admonition VI. Speaking of the willingness of the saints to endure hardships and make sacrifices to follow Jesus, St. Francis said, “It is a great shame for us, servants of God, that while the saints actually did such things, we wish to receive glory and honor by merely recounting their deeds.” Do I think that by merely praising God and speaking of saints’ heroic or miraculous deeds that I am following Jesus?
Perhaps there is indeed much infrastructure work to be done in my life, and no better time than now to show God that I am willing for Him to do it. I wish each of you a blessed Advent and Christmas