"Are we ready to receive Him? Before the birth of Jesus, his parents asked for a simple dwelling place, but there was none. If Mary and Joseph were looking for a home for Jesus, would they choose...your heart, and all it holds? Let us pray that we shall be able to welcome Jesus at Christmas not in the cold manger of a selfish heart, but in a heart full of love, compassion, joy and peace, a heart warm with love for one another." (St. Teresa of Calcutta)

What a challenge for each of us, as we begin this new Advent journey! Jesus wants to come to us in a fresh new way this Christmas, to be born in us. But he can only come where there is a place of welcome, a heart full of love. Sin and love cannot co-exist. Jesus is love and only love can receive him. Advent is the time to cleanse our heart of anything that is not love. It is a time to intensify our love for him. How? By loving one another. Each time we show genuine love to another, we show love to him. Prepare the way for the Lord!