I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
This verse, taken from the Second Reading of today?s Mass reminds us of the fact that holiness is a process. More often than not, we are transformed by God?s grace so gradually that we don?t notice a difference. It often takes looking back a year or more to see progress being made in the battle to control our vices.
The Church understands and that?s one of the reasons why we have four weeks of Advent. Don?t get discouraged if you aren?t where you think you should be yet. No matter how hard you try to change, the Holy Spirit controls the pace of your conversion. We still have two more weeks to go before we welcome Jesus at Christmas. In the meantime, let?s assess your Advent progress thus far. Have you prayed a little more, practiced some acts of kindness, refrained from criticizing others on a few occasions or gone to Confession for the first time in a while? Awesome! The Holy Spirit is working!!! Keep praying for the grace to become a little more like Christ each day.
Just like St. Paul, I am confident that the One who began this good work in you will continue to do so in the remaining weeks of Advent.
Gary Zimak is a dynamic and popular Catholic speaker at parishes and conferences throughout the United States and Canada. He is recognized as the leading Catholic speaker on overcoming anxiety through faith in Jesus Christ. One of the most popular Catholic speakers in the New Evangelization movement, Gary has led thousands of people closer to Christ through his parish missions, talks and retreats.
