Removing the Obstacle

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 12/14/06)

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde on Dec. 9 at the Vigil Mass of the Second Sunday of Advent at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.
As you and I drive almost anywhere in our diocese, we see clear signs of so many new sites being developed. Obviously, the first thing that has to be done is to prepare the land: low spots have to be filled or uneven areas leveled; sometimes boulders have to be removed and the trees either cut down or replanted elsewhere. In a word, before the foundations can be put in place and the structure built, the land or site must be made ready. And this is what John the Baptist is telling us right now: “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 … .”
The new Church year is only one week old. What a gift God gives us in each new Church year! He desires that during this time, we will allow ourselves to be drawn closer to Him and enter into a deeper relationship with Him. Yes, during this new Church year, the site of our spiritual relationship needs to be prepared. This is why so early in the new Church year, in this opening season of Advent, St. John the Baptist urges us to prepare the way of the Lord. Using imagery familiar to his first audience and to us, he challenges us to remove what is an obstacle to Christ’s coming to us — more fully, more deeply this new Church year.
So then, you and I must identify what is the obstacle within us which hinders Christ’s drawing near and, therefore, which needs to be removed. The obstacle will most likely be different for each one of us, but, in all honesty, we each have at least one. We must prayerfully and gently, not with anxiety, look within, examine our spiritual lives and identify the particular obstacles.
As I mentioned, the obstacle will vary for each one of us. It may be being too busy — “later on, Lord, right now I do not have time for You;” or it may be a false kind of independence — “I’ll do it my way;” or it may be pride — “Me first; I’m number one;” or it may be fear — “I’m afraid of what You may ask me to do, Lord;” or it may be discouragement — “I’ll never change” and “nothing helps.” In fact, discouragement is the evil one’s favorite tool, because once we are discouraged, we can so easily give up, which is exactly what he wants us to do.
Whatever the obstacle is, we must identify it and then bring it to Jesus. Alone, we cannot remove it, but with His transforming grace, we can. More precisely, He will remove it for us. As St. Paul reminds us, the One who has begun the good work in us — our call to be holy given at baptism — will bring it to completion, if only we let Him.
So then, with confidence in Our Blessed Lord, let us early in this new Church year clearly identify what is the obstacle to His drawing closer to us. Let us bring this obstacle to Jesus, asking Him to remove it, so that He can truly come closer to us, not only in this season when we are preparing to relive His first coming at Christmas, but throughout this new Church year, this year of grace!
A concrete way for us to be freed of any obstacles is to celebrate the Sacrament of Divine Mercy, the Sacrament of Penance. After all, the obstacles within us are truly our sins and in the Sacrament of Penance, Jesus, acting through the priest, forgives us our sins, heals us and sends us home with new strength to live His life of grace within us.
A poet once wrote: “Of all the sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’” These sad words need never be said of our relationship with the Lord. And they will not said if today we hear God’s word and respond by identifying the obstacle to Christ’s drawing near and asking Him to remove it. Truly, may this new Church year be a year of grace!

Copyright (c) 2006 Arlington Catholic Herald