Repentance

On this second Sunday of Advent, the liturgy, the voice of John the Baptis, invites us to the conversion necessary to welcome the approaching Kingdom of Heaven: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Mt 3:1). This Kingdom of Heaven is Jesus himself, so the "near" is the Son of God who became flesh in the womb of a woman and brought salvation to all humanity. This salvation brought by Christ and awaited by us is justice, joy, peace, love, truth, benevolence, solidarity, brotherhood, righteousness, goodness.

Since the coming of God into our lives is imminent, John the Baptist forcefully asks us to dedicate ourselves to penance, which purifies the heart, opens it to hope, and enables it to encounter Jesus who comes into the world.

The invitation to conversion through penance does not simply mean living—during Advent—a more sober lifestyle, with more frequent prayer and more generous charity. Conversion calls for an interior change, which begins with the recognition and confession of one's sin. Conversion indicates a change of mind and behaviour and requires the recognition that we are not worthy of God's coming to dwell in our homes.

The first conversion consists in faith, which is not merely commitment to the content of a message, but commitment to a Person who asks to come into our lives and be welcomed. Conversion is a radical and profound change in the human person. It involves not only a moral change, but a theological change, that is, a new way of thinking about God and living in Him. It is a new orientation of our entire person: mind and heart, thought and action.