Did you hear that? Do you know what it means? Can you believe it?
Because I cannot be with my family for Christmas, I always go down to see them the week before Advent. When I was down to visit them a few weeks ago, I had a little extra time to see some movies I have wanted to watch. One extremely inspiring movie that I was able to see was called “The 33.”
“The 33” is the story about the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped 700 meters underground in a gold mine in the Atacoma Desert in 2010. At first, no one believed that anything could be done to save them. It was simply believed that they were too far underground to be helped. The mine company that they worked for considered them lost. It was only because of the love and determination of their families that their story was brought to the attention of the Chilean government. The serious efforts to save these miners only began several days after their food supply should have run out and when many believed that they were dead. After more than a week the miners themselves began to believe that the people above ground must have given up on them, since no one reasonably could have believed that they were still alive. Suddenly, almost miraculously, on day 10 of their being trapped in the mine, they heard the sound of a drill which was searching for them. They could not believe their ears. They listened intently to their chance of survival as they heard it come closer and then pass by the location where they were trapped. They realized that what was probably their last chance of survival had missed the place where they had been trapped by only a few meters. It seemed as though all of their hope was lost. Surely no one would try to look for them a second time. And yet as day 16 came along, when it made no sense for people to still be looking for them, and as they prepared to die, they heard the same unmistakable sound again. This second time, as they heard the drills again, they wondered if it would be the real thing or just another disappointing miss. Miraculously, the drill they heard found them and they were able to let the outside world know they were alive. Through the small hole created by this first drill, food and the necessities for life were passed down to them and on October 13, 2010 they came up to the world again through a small slender tube. All 33 of the miners were saved. In a real way they experienced the meaning of today’s scripture that says God will lower every mountain and valley in order to save His people and allow them to return to Him.
Did you hear that? Do you know what it means? Do you believe it? This Sunday’s readings announce the same Good News to us that the drill announced to the 33 miners caught underground. John the Baptist announces that Jesus Christ is coming to destroy every barrier that exists between us and God. For all those who thought hope was lost, Jesus is coming to give all people the second, third or five hundredth chance that they thought was impossible. For as the Gospel of Luke announces, “All flesh will see the salvation of our God.” God sends His only Son into the world so that no one might be lost. No matter what we have done or how far away from God we believe that we are, God has come sent His only Son to bring us out of our despair alive and well.
This week the Church will begin the “Jubilee Year of Mercy.” The purpose of this year is to announce and remind all of us about what God wishes to do for every single person. Put simply, God wants to save every single person. The Year of Mercy will start on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. It begins on this date because in Mary God wishes to show all of us what He wishes to do for us. As she was conceived without sin, so too we are freed from sin through the Sacrament of Baptism and can turn away from all sin after Baptism by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. By turning away from sin, we can all like Mary be brought by God’s mercy to the Kingdom of Heaven. In the example of Mary we can see and understand what God wishes to do for all of us.
The last great prophet John the Baptist reminds us in this Sunday’s Gospel that Jesus has come to invite all of us to take the initiative that He gives us through the grace of repentance to remove the barriers that separate us from Him by repenting and turning away from sin. An essential part of the Year of Mercy that we will celebrate in the coming year will be the invitation that it extends to all to consider celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation during this special year. The celebration of this sacrament is intended to be a celebration of God’s love and mercy. For those who have not celebrated this sacrament in many years, the only thing you will hear from priests in this parish about the amount of time that you been away from the sacrament is a heart-felt welcome back. If you do not know how to celebrate the sacrament, the priest will gently assist you. In fact, in this week’s bulletin you will find cards that help to explain how both adults and young people are to prepare to celebrate this sacrament and how to actually celebrate the sacrament.
In order to help all people have a chance to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto, every parish is to be open for an entire day for confessions sometime between December 13th and December 20th. Our own parish will have confession on Friday, December 18th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm and on Saturday, December 19th from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you would rather go to a priest that you do not know at another church, please check the archdiocesan website at: www:archtoronto.org/confessions for the times of confessions at all of the other churches in the area and throughout the Archdiocese.
I remember watching the news and feeling very happy that these 33 miners from Chili were saved in 2010. It was beautiful to see the entire nation celebrate that they had been brought back up to the surface of the earth alive and well. Even though I already knew they had made it out, when I watched the movie I was very moved by their story. It made me happy that the 33 were saved and so much was done to save them. Advent reminds us that God has come to save more than just 33 miners from a far away country. Jesus has come to save all of us. As we hear the Good News that Jesus has come so that all flesh shall see the salvation of God, we need to joyfully accept His invitation to remove all the barriers that stand between ourselves and His salvation. This Jubilee Year of Mercy is intended to reawaken in all of us the joy of being saved by God’s mercy. In this Year of Mercy we are invited to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and know the joy of His forgiveness so that we too might sing with the Psalmist: “The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy!”
