During Advent, the Lord repeatedly commands us to prepare the way for Him. We know the Lord is telling us to repent in a mountain-leveling, valley-filling, straightening, and smoothing way (Is 40:3-4). But how exactly do we do this?

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the Americas. Mary is the expert on preparing the way of the Lord, because she conceived and birthed Jesus. Outside of Mexico City, hundreds of years ago, Mary prepared the way for the Lord so well that eight million people gave their lives to Jesus in seven years. Mary prepared the way of the Lord by:

• obeying. She said: "I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say" (Lk 1:38; see also Jn 2:5).
• evangelizing. "Thereupon Mary set out, proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth" (Lk 1:39-40).
• prophesying. She announced that the Lord "has deposed the mighty from their thrones and raised the lowly to high places. The hungry He has given every good thing, while the rich He has sent empty away" (Lk 1:52-53).
• suffering. "Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother" (Jn 19:25).
• praying. At the first Christian Pentecost, "together they devoted themselves to constant prayer" (Acts 1:14).

Prepare the way of the Lord. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 4, 2009

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