We read in the Gospel that there was great excitement and enthusiasm at the birth of
St. John the Baptist, that the news spread quickly about the events that were taking place.
And this because it had been over 400 years since there had been a prophet in Israel.
In fact, the first reading from the prophet Malachi, Malachi was the last prophet in Israel
400 years before the birth of St. John the Baptist.
And we see that in the prophecy of Malachi, he mentions the coming of St. John the Baptist
and also the coming of our Lord.
Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me.
This messenger is St. John the Baptist, who was given the mission to prepare the way of
the Lord.
And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, and the messenger of
the covenant whom you desire.
This is the text that's actually used for the feast of the presentation of our Lord in the
temple.
And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek.
As we all seek after God, our nature desires God because we were made for him.
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
And this messenger is the Lord himself who establishes the new and everlasting covenant
ratified in his blood.
Yes, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
And here we see that the prophet is now referring to the second coming of the Lord.
The first coming of our Lord was in humility and poverty.
And the second coming of our Lord will be in power and in glory.
And so the prophet says, well, who will endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when
he appears?
The scripture often refers to those who are just and those who are among the elect as those
who will stand in the day of the Lord.
Those who will be standing and can endure the presence and the judgment of the Lord.
While those who have died in their sins are not spoken of as standing, but as falling, as the
scripture says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi.
Here it talks about how our Lord will purify the priesthood, the sons of Levi.
Levi, this was the order of priests.
And they will be purified to offer that true sacrifice, that pleasing sacrifice to the Lord,
the Holy Eucharist.
Refining them like gold or like silver, that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, as in the days of old, as
in years gone by.
And that sacrifice, which was pleasing to the Lord in the years of old, in the days gone
by, that's the sacrifice of Abel that we make mention of in the Eucharistic prayer, the
canon of the Mass.
Lo, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible
day.
And this is, again, a dual reference to the first coming, referring to St. John the Baptist,
who, as our Lord said, came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
He wasn't the same person as Elijah, but came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day.
And that great and terrible day, of course, refers to the second coming.
Great for those who are just, who are found in the love of God and the love of neighbor,
and terrible for those who are not.
And it's also interpreted by the fathers that the very person of Elijah, Elijah himself,
will come before the second coming of Christ.
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to
their fathers.
And this refers to the children of Israel, and their fathers, the patriarchs, and the
prophets.
To turn the hearts of the patriarchs and prophets to the children of Israel, who had slain them,
and not accepted their word and testimony.
And the hearts of the children to their fathers, to reconcile the children of Israel, the disobedient
ones, the ones who had not observed and remained faithful to the covenant.
So now, you know, we can meditate on these words of the prophet Malachi, in preparation for
ourselves to celebrate the first coming of our Lord, that we celebrate in Christmas, and
also to prepare ourselves for his second coming.
This is the essence of Advent, this time of preparation for the dual coming of our Lord.
And as the prophet speaks about purification and refining, etc., so we too should purify and
refine our souls.
There is no better preparation that we can possibly do for the coming of our Lord this Christmas
than sacramental confession, to purify our souls with sacramental absolution.
And as well, this will be a good preparation for the second coming of our Lord, so that we
can stand in his presence when he comes.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
in his presence when he comes to the Father, and of the Holy Spirit.
Naaman!
O'er, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's, O's.
Ad nos ponderte, et esum benedictum fructum ventris tuvi.