We live in a world of sound bites and blogs, in a world overloaded with the noise of competing viewpoints and voices. It can sometimes be difficult to discern what is really worthy of our attention. While we may not often think of it in this way, Advent is a season of discernment. As St. Paul reminds us in the Letter to the Philippians:

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10)

If we settle for the mediocrity of sound bites and half-truths, without seeking to discern what is truly important, we run the risk of losing sight of the hopes and promises that can only find fulfillment in a life commitment to Christ. In a particular way, John the Baptist, the “voice crying in the wilderness,” reminds us of what it is we are called to do and be.

In essence, his call for us to prepare for the Lord’s coming is a charge to discern the voice of the Lord calling to us and to persevere in the ways of faith. As the priest and theologian Origen asks us, “Is it not a way within ourselves that we have to prepare for the Lord? Is it not a straight and level highway in our hearts that we are to make ready?”

In response to these essential questions, he reminds us: “Prepare a way for the Lord by living a good life and guard that way by good works. Let the Word of God move in you unhindered and give you a knowledge of his coming and of his mysteries” (Homilies on Luke, 21).