we can only say we truly know this Good Shepherd if we are willing to listen to his voice and follow his commands in our daily lives.

“The daughter of Sudan, sold into slavery as a living piece of property, is free, free with the freedom of the saints.”

John calls his desert-followers—and each of us—to Advent honesty and vulnerability. In his clarion call, Advent hope and the hard work of conversion come together.

Our Advent journey is one of lament and longing, a cry for that life which only God can give.

Jesus opens his heart to embrace the heaviness that we carry in ours; he doesn’t take away our cross, but he labors with us. And this is how burdens become light: because he carries them with us.

The Resurrection shows us that there is always reason to hope and that Christ remains with us, journeying with us as we walk our pilgrim path.

To live in freedom requires a choice on our part. It means that we have to do the work of Lent and strip away distractions, pretense, agenda, and the masks that we present to the world, to open ourselves to the truth that saves us.