LIVE IT TODAY: Sunday, December 7, 2025 | Second Sunday of Advent
You are made to bear good fruit—fruit that lasts.
LIVE IT TODAY: Sunday, December 7, 2025 | Second Sunday of Advent
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
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GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
You are made to bear good fruit—fruit that lasts.
INVOCATION
Come, Holy Spirit! Through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary, open my heart to hear and receive all that You desire for me. Draw me ever more deeply into the Love and Life of the Blessed Trinity!
GOSPEL | Matthew 3:1–12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand.
He will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Prepare the Way—From the Inside Out
John the Baptist arrives like a thunderclap in Israel’s spiritual drought. He does not whisper. He does not soften the message. He does not market or entertain. He awakens. His cry—“Repent!”—is not shame-inducing but liberating, calling people back to life, back to God, back to fruitfulness.
The word for “repent” is metanoeite—meaning a total change of mind and direction. Not merely regret, not merely apology, but a decisive turning. John is announcing a Kingdom that is not coming someday but breaking in now. In other words:
You cannot stay where you are and follow where God is leading.
John’s clothing echoes the prophet Elijah. His location—“the desert”—signals purification, encounter, dependence. His baptism is not ritual for ritual’s sake but preparation for the Messiah. The contrast is sharp: some come with sincere hearts, confessing sins and longing for new life. Others—the Pharisees and Sadducees—come with appearances intact but hearts unmoved. John sees through them immediately. Repentance without fruit is like a tree that blossoms but never bears anything real.
This Second Sunday of Advent confronts us gently but unmistakably: God desires fruit, not façade. Families often feel the pressure to look holy rather than to become holy—to appear prayerful while carrying quiet bitterness, to speak of faith while ignoring hidden compromises. John invites us into freedom: clear the debris, straighten what is crooked, name what needs healing, and allow grace to penetrate the interior places.
Here lies the Advent paradox:
God’s fire does not destroy the surrendered heart—it cleanses it, strengthens it, and makes it fruitful.
Jesus comes with a baptism “of the Holy Spirit and fire.” Fire purifies. Fire enlightens. Fire ignites. In the domestic church, this means allowing Christ to burn away resentment, fear, self-protection, and whatever chokes the life of the Spirit within your home. The winnowing fan—an agricultural image—reveals His intent: to separate what is life-giving from what is lifeless, so that the good grain of your family’s love can be gathered and cherished.
Parents, prepare the way in your home by choosing repentance that bears fruit. Pray over your spouse and children by name, asking the Holy Spirit to purify hearts, remove obstacles to grace, silence every lie of the Enemy, and ignite a fire of love that transforms your family from the inside out.
“Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life.” (CCC 1431)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
REAL FRUIT
Where in your life is God calling you to bear concrete, visible fruit rather than relying on appearances?
FIRE AND FREEDOM
What needs to be surrendered to Christ’s purifying fire in your heart or home?
ADVENT CLEARING
What “debris”—habits, attitudes, or hidden sins—needs to be cleared to prepare a straight path for the Lord?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one area where each person wants to prepare the way for Jesus—something to release, repair, or renew.
Then take a moment to pray over each person by name, asking the Holy Spirit to purify their hearts, deepen repentance, strengthen virtue, and ignite a fire of love that prepares the way for Christ within your home.
Daily Challenge: Choose one simple, concrete act today that clears space for Jesus—an apology, a forgiveness, a letting go, or a return to prayer.
DAILY PARENT & GRANDPARENT BLESSING
LORD JESUS CHRIST, let Your holy anointing be upon each of our children, grandchildren, and godchildren this day and week, including all to whom they are called in vocation, and all future generations! In Your Sacred Name we claim them for You! We renounce all whispers, lies, and influences of the Enemy! We pray right now that each know Your loving Presence, be forged in virtue, and be flooded with an abundance of Your Holy Spirit to live fully their identity and mission in You now and through all eternity, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother! Amen.
PARENT BLESSING PROJECT: bit.ly/ParentBlessing
GOING VERTICAL
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Just as the vertical beam upholds the horizontal beam of the Cross, so too does undistracted, dedicated daily turning to God as our lifeblood uphold and strengthen every part of life. Start with just three minutes. Wait patiently for the breakthrough beyond the noise. Let Him speak.
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