Preparing for Advent: A Harvest From the Transformed Soul

November 22, 2020 - Today is the Sunday Next Before Lent. It is the week given by the Church to prepare for the blessed Season of Advent. In this liturgy we pray, "Stir up the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded." In that prayer, we have the language of a harvest. And, no harvest just appears automatically. There is some work to be done in order for a harvest to be plentiful. In Advent, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are given the tools that when used produce the harvest of the good works in Christ; the very fruit of the Holy Spirit. This sermon examines the tools of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These three, by the grace of God, transform the soul which results in this harvest of these good works.