John the Baptist Urges True Repentance – Dec 07 – Homily – Fr Bernard
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Fr Bernard gives the homily at New Bedford, on Dec 07, 2025, where he explores Isaiah's prophecy of a shoot from Jesse's stump symbolizing Christ's Davidic lineage and renewal in our lives, while drawing from the Gospel account of John the Baptist to emphasize genuine repentance and preparation for Christ's three comings during Advent.
Father begins with the first reading from Isaiah, describing a shoot sprouting from the stump of Jesse, father of King David, symbolizing the Davidic line's apparent end due to Israel's unfaithfulness and exile, yet renewed miraculously in Jesus Christ at the Annunciation through Saint Joseph's lineage. This divine intervention illustrates God's power to revive what seems dead, applying it to our lives: even if sin and worldly confusion leave us like a barren stump, He can make grace sprout forth if we correspond by allowing His love to nourish us. In the Gospel from Matthew, Father portrays Saint John the Baptist as the prophesied Elijah figure, dressed in camel's hair and preaching repentance in the desert, fulfilling Isaiah's words: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths." John baptizes with water for repentance, announcing the mightier one—Jesus—who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, separating wheat from chaff. Father warns against the Pharisees' and Sadducees' hypocrisy, presuming salvation through Abraham's descent or external rituals from Numbers and Deuteronomy, now superseded by the new law of grace. True repentance demands interior conversion, bearing good fruit, not mere feelings, but sorrow for offending God, and a firm resolution to amend one's life with His help—key for valid confession. Father ties this to Advent's threefold preparation: for Christ's historical birth, His second coming or death's judgment, and His present coming into hearts. He evokes the image of Jesus knocking at the heart's door, handle inside, respecting free will for a spontaneous act of love. To welcome Him, we must repent, pursue virtue, and heed the Blessed Mother's recent apparitions, like John of old, calling for conversion, penance, and openness so Christ can reign in our lives, families, and society today.
For Further Reading:
Isaiah 40:3 - Voice crying in desert - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/40?3
Malachi 4:5 - Elijah's return prophesied - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/malachi/4?5
CCC 523 - John's mission prepares Christ - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/523.htm
CCC 717 - Baptist fulfills Isaiah prophecy - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/717.htm
CCC 1430-1433 - Nature of conversion repentance - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1430.htm
CCC 1422-1424 - Sacrament of Penance elements - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1422.htm
Ave Maria!
Mass: 2nd Sunday of Advent - Sunday
Readings: - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120725.cfm
1st: isa 11:1-10
Resp: psa 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
2nd: rom 15:4-9
Gsp: mat 3:1-12
More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=1231
Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GO1ZvobcnEE
