"Prepare the way f the Lord!" This was the cry of Isaiah to the people of Israel. This was the cry of John the Baptist to the contemporaries of Jesus. This is the cry of the Church to us each Advent. How do we prepare? John called for repentance. Jesus called for repentance. Peter on the Day of Pentecost urged repentance. Why? Sin is an obstacle to the gift Jesus comes to give us, the gift of himself. Sin reflects "there was no room in the inn." True repentance prepares a manger in our heart to receive him. Sin does not allow us to even recognize him. John 1:11 "He came to his own did not accept him." Repentance leads to love. John 1:12 "Yet whoever did accept him, those who believed in his name, he gave them the power to become the sons of God." Our response to the call of Isaiah is a repentant and contrite heart and an invitation: Come, Lord Jesus, come!