The season of Advent is a time of prayer and a time of waiting in hope.
It is a time of prayer for us to reflect about our human condition and who we are before God.
As we reflect on our weak and sinful human condition, the 1st reading gives us this stark reminder:
All flesh is grass and its beauty like the wild flower’s.
The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on them.
But the Word of God remains forever.
We are reminded that we are really nothing before God.
Yet, God does not see us as nothing. We are the beauty of His creation.
The 1st reading also tells us that God is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breasts and leading to their rest the mother ewes.
Such is God’s great love for us and His love is shown when He sent His only Son to save us.
And Jesus tells us in the gospel that God does not want any one of His creation to be lost.
So our prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s great love for us.
And we pray with hope that those who have gone astray will be brought back by the love of God.
And it is only when we truly repent of our sins that we will be able to help others to repent and return back to God.