You're listening to the I Pray with the Gospel Sunday Reflection on the St. Jose Maria Institute podcast.

In the name of the Father and of the, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my Father and Lord,

my guardian angel, intercede for me.

The second Sunday of Advent, a reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 3.

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make its path straight. I baptize you with

water for repentance, for he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not

worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. St. John the Baptist is called the precursor because he prepared the people of Israel for the imminent coming of Jesus, and he was so effective because he was humble. When they asked him who he was, he didn't say, I am John, son of Zachary, of the priestly tribe of, on the contrary, St. John said,

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. The voice, like an envelope, is forgotten.

The content of the message is the important thing. He prepared the first disciples of Jesus, sending his own

followers to go with Jesus instead of following him. He was the voice. Jesus was the Word of God.

When they met Jesus, he made them apostles. Humility is a feature of a true apostle.

A witness, a precursor, has the humility to bring people to Jesus and then move aside

and let him transform them.

That's what we are, precursors.

Witnesses to Jesus for our friends and relatives.

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